Escargot Sombreros in Saffron Cream Sauce

From Tucson Country Club, Tucson, AZ from Southwest Tastes Cookbook by Ellen Brown

• Ready In: 11 hrs 40 mins
• Serves: 6-8
• Yields: 6-8 plates

Ingredients

• Cilantro Pesto

• 1  tablespoon  chopped garlic
• 1⁄4 cup  freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1  cup cilantro leaf
• 3  tablespoons  pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 2  teaspoons olive oil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 lime, juice of

• Pasta

• 4  lemons
• 1⁄4 teaspoon saffron
• 2  cups bread flour
• 2  cups semolina flour
• 4  eggs
• 2  egg yolks
• 1  tablespoon olive oil

• Filling

• 30  canned snails, drained
• 1  cup dry white wine
• 1⁄4 cup  grated monterey jack cheese
• 1⁄2 cup  cilantro pesto sauce, above
• 1  egg yolk
• 1  egg, lightly beaten

• Sauce

• 2  tablespoons  choped shallots
• 2  tablespoons  chopped garlic
• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1  cup  fish stock or 1  cup  clam juice
• 1  cup dry white wine
• 1 2⁄3 cups heavy cream
• 2  teaspoons  chopped fresh basil or 1⁄4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1⁄8 teaspoon saffron

• Garnish

• 1⁄4 cup  juleinned sun-dried tomato
• 1⁄4 cup pitted black olives, halved

Directions

1. Cilantro Pesto: Grind all the ingred together in a blender or a food processor fitted with a steel blade until it becomes a paste.
2. Pasta: Cut zest off of 2 lemons using a zester or veggie peeler and chop fine. Juice all 4 lemons and combine with the saffron and zest in a small saucepan. Reduce by half and allow to cool.
3. Place the flours in a mixing bowl of a mixer with a dough hook and add the eggs and egg yolks, along with the cooled lemon mixture. Knead for several minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic, then add the oil. If it seems crumbly and dry, add an additional egg yolk, and if too sticky, add flour. Allow the dough to sit, covered with plastic wrap, for a few hours before rolling.
4. Filling: Marinate the snails in the white wine for 1 hour. Combine the cheese, cilantro pesto, and egg yolk and place in a pastry bag. Set aside.
5. Sombreros: Roll out sheets of pasta through a pasta machine until it is set on the thinnest setting. Cut the sheets with 3inch round crinkle cutters. Place a snail and 1t of the filling on one side of the circle, brush the edges with the beaten egg, fold, and seal. Pull the sides of the edge together to form a brim shape. Set aside until ready to cook.
6. Sauce: Saute the shallot and garlic in butter for several minutes over medium heat. Add the fish sotk and white wine and cook over high heat until reduced by half. Add the heavy cream, basil, and saffron and simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning.
7. Serve: Cook the sombreros in a large amount of boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then drain. Ladle the saffron sauce onto plates, reserving a little. Toss the reserved sauce with the dried tomatoes, olives, and sombrerros. Pipe Red Chili Paint (recipe #356557) on each plate and arrange 5 escargot sombreros in the center. Serve Cumin Seed and Pepper Toasts (recipe #356562) with the sombreros.
8. Note: Everything up to the final assemble of this dish can be done in advance. The sombreros can be made up to 6 hours in advance, as can the sauce.