Orto di Lumache | Norbert Niederkofler

Ingredients for 4 people

For purging the snails

20 fresh snails, to be purged
Rosemary
Thyme
Bay leaves
Bran

For cooking the snails

Bay leaves
Celery leaves
Cornstarch
30 g of shallots, finely diced
50 g of celeriac, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
30 g of thyme
30 g of rosemary
100 g of butter
30 ml of dry white wine
1 liter of chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Cornstarch

For the marinated parsley roots

2 parsley roots
30 g of salt
400 ml of white balsamic vinegar
400 ml of water
325 g of sugar
2 shallots
5 g of saffron

For the parsley water

200 g parsley
2 lt water
Salt

For the parsley root cream

250 g of parsley roots
25 g of butter
350 ml of chicken broth
350 ml of whole fresh cream
Salt, pepper

For the parsley caviar

2.5 liters of water
250 g of parsley leaves
12 g of agar agar
½ liter of well-chilled grapeseed oil

For the celery gel

500 ml of centrifuged celery
6 g of agar agar
½ lemon
Salt

For the black rice

2 liters of water
50 grams of black rice
Salt
1 liter of vegetable oil

For the gremolade

25 g of shallot
25 g of parsley
25 g of pickles
Grapeseed oil
White wine vinegar
Salt, pepper

To garnish

4 wild broccoli
4 small radishes
Wild arugula

Method

For the snails to be purged

Place the snails in a basket with the aromatic herbs and bran. Only after 10 days, when the snails' intestines have been cleansed of soil, can you proceed to cook them.

For cooking the snails

Place the snails in a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to a boil. Add the aromatic herbs and let simmer for 1 hour, then cool down.
Shell the snails and rub them in cornstarch to clean them of any intestinal residue, then rinse under running water.
Finely chop the herbs and sauté them in butter along with the garlic and brunoise. Add the snails, deglaze with the white wine, and let it evaporate. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning.
Separate the snails from the broth. Blend the broth, strain it, and thicken it with cornstarch until creamy.
Recombine the snails with the creamy sauce.

For the marinated parsley roots

Thinly slice the parsley roots lengthwise. Bring all the other ingredients to a gentle boil. Pour the hot marinade over the parsley roots.
Cool and let marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

For the parsley water

Blanch the parsley for 5 minutes, then separate it from the liquid, keeping both, and cool in ice water.
Blend the parsley in a food processor at maximum speed, gradually adding the infused liquid until the right consistency is achieved. Strain through an etamine.

For the parsley root cream

Brown the parsley roots in butter over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the cream, broth, and simmer for 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning.
Blend in a food processor for 6 minutes at maximum speed. Cool and add the parsley water.

For the parsley caviar

Blanch the parsley for 5 minutes, then cool in ice water. Blend at maximum speed for 6 minutes in a food processor, then strain through a cheesecloth.

Bring ¼ of the liquid to a boil, thicken it with the agar agar, combine with the remaining liquid, and pour into a squeeze bottle. Drip the liquid drop by drop into the oil.

For the celery gel

Bring ¼ of the celery juice to a boil. Thicken it with agar agar, then add the other ingredients.
Strain through a cheesecloth and cool in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Blend and pass through a sieve.

For the black rice

Boil the rice for 20 minutes. Drain and let the rice dry on a silicone mat for 3 hours.
Fry at 180 degrees Celsius. Cool and blend.

For the gremolade

Finely chop shallot, parsley, and pickles. Combine with the other ingredients and adjust seasoning.


All photos by Daniel Töchterle