Escargot Escapades

In between work committments in Sydney and Melbourne I have been lucky enough to be spending a couple of days with my good friends Libby and Kevin in Narracan located in the Strzelecki Ranges, South Eastern Victoria. It is smack bang in the the heart of potato country and the humble snail. Until yesterday, I had never knowingly eaten a snail or should I say escargot. Although I do recall some extra crunch in the homegrown spinach growing up… I have discovered that Salt and Pepper escargot and Black Truffle escargot are particularly delicious courtesy of Vincenza Alexander owner and chef at Cafe Escargot, in Mirboo North.  I admit that I was expecting slime but instead found a delicacy crossed between seafood and chicken and there were so many tapas style escargot dishes to choose from that I know I will have to go back one day. Escargot contain virtually no fat, only 90 calories per 100g and are 16% protein.  100 grams of escargot is a decent sized serve and it is a healthy alternative to our more traditional proteins such as red meat, chicken and fish. Maybe I should stop standing on the ones that are trying to destroy my garden and start fattening them up with protein and calcium like they do here?