Cracked Wheat and Snails
Snails are known as ‘chochli’ in Crete.
A delicious dish!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cracked wheat (bulgur)
- 1/2 kilogram snails
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cups water
- 2 ripe tomatoes, grated
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Salt, pepper
Procedure:
We clean the shell of the snail with a knife, and with the tip of the knife, we remove the membrane that has formed at its opening. Check for any dead snails. Boil them in a pot of cold, salted water for approximately 5 minutes. Rinse them thoroughly to remove any remaining residue, and they will be ready for cooking.
In a separate pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion. Then, add the cleaned snails and cook them until they are sautéed. Next, incorporate the grated tomato and diluted tomato paste.
Allow the snails to cook thoroughly, then remove them from the pot.
Add water to the pot, and after it boils, add the bulgur.
Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for twenty minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
If necessary, add a little water.
10 minutes before turning off the heat, add the snails and stir to combine.
Allow the bulgur to absorb some of the liquids, then serve.
Lena Igoumenaki
President of the Cretan Cuisine Festival Association
Cretan Cuisine Festival
Mizithropites: Authentic Cretan Pies
Meat cake
Chania Boureki or Courgette Boureki
Topia (Balls)
The Traditional 'Bread of the Year'
Snails with Broad Beans and Artichokes
Cretan Ospriada or Palikaria (A Legume Dish)
Chickpeas with Wild Leeks, Flour and Lemon Sauce
Pies with ‘Yachnera’ Greens
Fennel Pie
Sfakian Pie or Sfakianopita
Biscuits with Sesame Seeds
Sweet Rice Pie or 'Tzoulamas'
Apostoli White-Eyed Bean
Almond-Infused Goat Dish with Fennel: A Fresh Delight
Lazarosavato
The Holy Week Sourdough
Nerati Mizithropita
Easter Eggs
Kalikota
Stuffed Courgette Flowers
Stuffed Vine Leaves
Chochli Boubouristi (Snails Face Down)
Mangiri
Symian Bean
Cretan Pilaf
Rethymno Water Pies
Xerotigana
Agnopites
Patoudo
Safidota
Kakavia (Fish Soup)
Cretan Greek salad
The Sweet Bounty of the Cretan Harvest
Okra and Unripe Grape
Kapriko
Discovering and Cooking Asphodelaceae: A Taste of Local Cuisine
Moustokouloura
Pie with 'Yachnera' Greens: Baked to Perfection
Pumpkin Stifado
Sweet Pumpkin Pies with Raki Leaves (Oven)
Xinochondros: Sour Bulgur Pasta
Prickly Pear or Indian Fig
Black Bryony
Tahini Soup without Oil
Chylofta with Milk
Tyrozouli or Cretan Home Cheese
Pickled Tassel Hyacinth
Sourdough Dagoulakia
Quince Confection
Delicious Homemade Treat with Lemon Blossoms
Tiganopites: Greek Fried Pies
Dietary Practices in 17th Century Crete
Lazarakia
Kalitsounia from Chania
Chickpeas with Yachnera: A Delightful Dish
Gastrin