Having lived 22 years in Rhode Island with its large Italian population, our family grew accustomed to finding freshly made “Snail Salad” in the seafood markets on a regular basis. Now, living in a warmer climate, it took some searching to even find the scungilli. Therefore, Insalata di Scungilli is reserved for special occasions like our traditional Christmas Eve Italian-style seafood dinner.
PrintSnail Salad
Scungilli Salad is a delicious appetizer to serve with an authentic Italian meal.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound scungilli (without the shell – see recipe notes below)
- 2 stalks celery, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Place the scungilli in a stock pot and cover completely with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to a steady simmer. Cook the scungilli until it can be fairly easily pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes to an hour. Drain and allow to cool enough to handle. If necessary, clean as described in the recipe notes below.
- Slice the cooled, cleaned scungilli as thinly as possible and place in a medium bowl. Add the celery and onion. Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, add to scungilli, celery and onion mixture and toss to coat well. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if necessary. Either serve at room temperature or chill a minimum of one hour before serving. This recipe can be made a day in advance.
Notes
Recipe Notes:
If you're not familiar, scungilli is a variety of whelk, similar to conch. The shell is quite large, about 6 to 8 inches in length. Most often scungilli are sold frozen and already shelled, although depending on where you live, you may be able to buy them fresh. If you do buy them frozen, defrost them in the refrigerator before cooking.
To clean the scungilli after cooking, remove any hard cartilage you might find at the large end of the snail in addition to the brown sac that runs along the outer side and rinse before slicing.
Alphonse mannarelli says
I’m from Rhode Island living in ft. Lauderdale. Where can I buy snails? People in this part of the country have no idea what I’m talking about.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Alphonse,
We have a seafood market here in Orlando that carries it both frozen and in cans. The canned brand is La Monica and it comes pre-sliced, which could be a real time-saver. There are a couple of online shopping sources for it. One is Ivarone Brothers in NY: http://www.ibfoods.com/scungilli-sliced-conch/ – the other is Amazon.com. You can read reviews of the product on both websites. Overall people seem to be satisfied with the quality. I haven’t tried the canned yet, but I plan to do that and add my thoughts to the recipe notes here. Hope this helps. Let us know if you give it a try.
Sabrina says
Iavarone Brothers in Wantaugh, NY sells 29 oz. cans. I live in CA and order from them every year.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Sabrina,
That’s good information. Thank you for sharing it.
Joe Izzillo says
When you buy scungilli in the can, are they already cooked?
gary says
where can i get snail salad in the n.h. area.Also can i order it frozen if so where.
Karen says
I cant wait to try this recipe!
Carolyn Clinton says
Do you know where I can buy snails in Orlando FI.? I am from R.I too
Thanks
Lynne Webb says
Lombardi’s in Winter Park sells them frozen: http://www.lombardismarketplace.com