You have got to love New York. Just the other day, on my way home from running like three grazillion errands, I stopped into one of my favorite neighborhood bakeries to pick up a sandwich for lunch. While I was waiting for my order, the guy in front of me said, “Oh, that is my favorite. FAVORITE! Sandwich.”
His girlfriend’s eyes, poor woman, sort of glazed over as we discussed the salt, the ooze of tasty olive oil, the little bite of the red onion, the bitterness of the arugula, and the sheer genius of the Gestalt. It is the sort of sandwich that you can have daydreams about, really.
Having clearly found a kindred spirit, he introduced himself as Steve, and then asked whether I had ever tasted the lumaca, or snail pastries that the same bakery makes. Surprisingly, since I have pretty much sampled every other thing on the sweets menu there, I had not.
“They are so good! They are so good that I had to figure out how to make them myself.”
He then launched into the recipe for the lumaca that he’d come up with. He gave very few details but was able to communicate the basics when two of the other customers almost got into a fist fight over, well, who knows what. A latte? The last of those fabulous sandwiches? I had been too busy in sandwich land with my new friend.
So, our conversation was cut short; we used our good spirits to break up the fight. So, this one, Steve, is for you. Where ever you are, thank you!
Note: Steve described the pastry he used as phyllo, but here I have used puff pastry. It makes this dessert or morning treat one of the easiest things ever to make. Try baking them with very small mini-chefs, and I bet you’ll have success.
Snail Rolls
*one package of puff pastry dough
*a bit of flour for the work surface and the rolling pin
*1/4 c. apricot jam
*1 c. pecans, walnuts, or a mixture of those two
*1/2 c. raisins, finely chopped
*1/4 c. sugar for sprinkling
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Together: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the nuts into a large plastic zipper bag and seal tightly. Have your mini-chef roll a rolling pin back and forth over the nuts, crumbling them.
Flour the surface that you’re going to be rolling the pastry out on and flour the rolling pin. Working together, roll the puff pastry dough out so that it is about 1/8-inch thick.
Spoon the apricot jam on the upper half of the rectangle. Spreading the jam on the longer edge will give you smaller pastries while the short edge will give you slightly larger pastries, but they are both wonderful.
Sprinkle the raisins and the nuts all over the jam. Then, starting from the edge with the jam, begin to roll the puff pastry up as tight as you can, creating a long tube.
Big Person: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
Pull the chilled dough out of the fridge and cut it into 1/2-inch slices using a serrated knife.
Together Again: Place the spirals on the prepared baking sheets with plenty of room to grow as they bake. Have your mini-chef sprinkle the sugar all over the top of the spirals.
Big Person: Bake the pastries for 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown at the edges. Cool for a few minutes before eating. Happy snail-eating!
