Snails Sommeroise

100 Snails

Vinegar 2 Thyme sprigs

1/2 Bay leaf

1 Basil sprig

1 Pared orange peel

7 oz Pork rind

1/2 c Olive oil

1/2 lb Fatty bacon

6 Shelled walnuts, ground

4 Canned anchovy fillets

3 Garlic cloves

Salt and pepper 3 tb Flour

6 1/2 lb Whole trimmed spinach leaves

Preparation time 3 hours. Cooking time 2 1/2 hours. Starve the snails for at least 8 days, then wash them in several changes of water until clean. Rinse with vinegar, then drain. Place the snails in a saucepan of boiling water with the thyme, bay leaf, basil, orange peel and pork rind. When the snails are almost cooked, drain them and remove them from their shells. [I guess boiling them makes it easier to remove them from their shells. --mkm] Brown the snails in olive oil with the fatty bacon, very finely chopped [I assume the author means chop the bacon first. --mkm], the ground walnuts, anchovy fillets, crushed garlic and salt and pepper. Thicken the mixture with the flour, then serve on a bed of spinach. [Make sure you wash all the grit off the spinach first. --mkm] Rose, red or white wines: Tavel, Chusclan, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence. [From "Larousse Traditional French Cooking."]