Spring Stew of Mushrooms and Snails

Total prep/cook time: 1 1/2 hours

This recipe is shared by Cobblestone Vineyard, created by Chef Alex Guzauski from L'Orto dello Chef at Eataly, recommended to pair with their 2010 Atlas Peak Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, or Frank Family Vineyards 2011 Winston Hill Napa Valley Red Wine.

Serves: Serves 4-6

Ingredients Stew:

• 1 can Burgundy snails • 2 oz grape seed oil • 1/4 lb morel mushrooms • 1/4 lb chanterelle mushrooms • 1/4 lb black trumpet mushrooms • 5 sprigs fresh thyme, divided • 6 cloves garlic, smashed and divided • 3 shallots, minced • 1 fresh bay leaf • 2 c red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon) • 4 c reduced veal stock (demi-glace) • 4 oz unsalted butter, cubed and divided • 1 oz sherry vinegar • sea salt, to taste

Fava beans:

• 2 oz unsalted butter • 2 oz water • 4 c fresh fava beans, shucked • 4 c pea tendrils, trimmed if large • sea salt, to taste

Persillade:

• 1 c fresh parsley, chopped fine • ½ c fresh mint, chiffonade fine • 3 garlic cloves, minced • 2 oz extra virgin olive oil • 1 c bread crumbs • zest of 3 lemons • sea salt, to taste

Preparation

• Drain and rinse snails 3-4 times until water is clean and clear. Discard any vegetables or bay leaves that may have been packed in the can and clean mushrooms of any dirt, checking for bugs. Trim and cut into larger pieces, leaving smaller mushrooms whole; set aside. • Blanch fava beans for 30-45 seconds in highly salted boiling water. Rapidly cool in ice bath and peel pale outer skin, leaving the bright green meat whole; set aside. • For the persillade, put parsley, mint, garlic, olive oil, bread crumbs, and lemon zest in a bowl and mix thoroughly (mixture should be semi-dry and bread crumbs should still have a crunchy texture). Season with sea salt and set aside. • In a medium-to-large sauce pot, heat grape seed oil until almost smoking. Add mushrooms and half of the thyme and crushed garlic cloves and sear hard for 2-3 minutes, stirring only a few times. Turn off heat, transfer mushrooms to a bowl and set aside. • In same pot add a little more oil and 2 ounces of butter and sweat shallots until translucent. Add snails and rest of thyme and garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add bay leaf and red wine and bring to a simmer; reduce wine to just below half and add veal stock. Bring to a simmer and let reduce until the liquid lightly coats the spoon. Stir in mushrooms and bring to a simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 ounces of butter. Season with sherry vinegar and salt and keep warm. • For the fava beans, in a separate small sauce pot, bring butter and water to a boil; add fava beans and let simmer until reduced to a glaze that coats the fava beans. Turn off heat, add pea tendrils and sea salt; stir until tendrils begin to wilt slightly, about 20-30 seconds. • To serve, ladle stew in a shallow bowl, spoon a cup of fava beans and tendrils around the stew, and top with a generous amount of persillade.