Title: Snails sommeroise
 Categories: Appetizers
      Yield: 8 Servings
 
    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."]