Pig's trotters with snails (Pies de cerdo con caracoles)
Four servings: Four pig's trotters cut lengthwise; 50 g of chorizo cut into slices;
50 g cured ham, cut into cubes; 50 g of bacon, cut into cubes; 2 tbsp of flour; 1
large onion, finely chopped; 6 tbsp of tomato purée; 1 bay leave, some
peppercorns, a few sprigs of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (it sounds to me
like a Celtic love song to me, I wonder why).
One bag of frozen snails (In previous times, snails had to be collected and allowed
to fast for at least 10 ten days; then they were thoroughly washed several times
with water, salt and vinegar, and put in a casserole with water on a mild gas heat
and they started to poke their bodies out, and so they could be cooked to death
without their "retreating" back to the shell. Today, we can spare all this process
and use a frozen presentation of the product that has all the necessary hygienic
guaranties).
Pig's trotters management: In general, pig's trotters in Spain are sold blanched
and singed, so what is left to do for this recipe is to previously boil them for 60
minutes in 1500 cc of water. They will later be cooked for another 45 minutes in
the casserole with the rest of ingredients. In the first boiling phase skim off the
impurities from the water, and reserve both the water (now a stock) and the
trotters.
Snails: Put the snails in a casserole with cold water (they do not need defrosting)
and add the herbs abovementioned and some salt; start then to cook them on a
medium-to-high heat for 15 minutes until you can notice a dark color in the water,
which is normal; turn off the fire, leave the snails in the casserole for some 5
minutes, sieve, rinse with abundant water and reserve.
Preparation: Start to lightly fry the chorizo, the dry-cured ham, and the bacon for
less than 1 minute; add the onion finely chopped and spoon all the ingredients to
get an homogeneous mixture; let the ingredients simmer on a mild fire for a few
minutes, add the flour, stir it all to avoid it sticks to the casserole (add some of the
trotter's stock if necessary). Now you can add the tomato, stir it all again, and let
some simmering for another 15 minutes. After this time you can add the pig's
trotters and a good amount of the stock produced in their cooking to cover them
sufficiently. The time left for the conclusion of this recipe is around 60-75 minutes,
although the snails will be added 30-35 minutes before the conclusion time of the
recipe.