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1. Bulots Mayonnaise Salad Dressing
2. Assiette De Bulots Mayonnaise
3. Bulots Mayonnaise Salad
4. Bulots Mayonnaise Substitute

Mar 31, 2016 Homemade mayonnaise, which uses raw eggs, is a different matter altogether, and should be kept cold. And because other components of a sandwich are susceptible to spoilage, your lunch should. Clean the bulots by soaking in salt water and then rinsed with clean water a few times. Place them in a pan with cold water (1.5 liters) wine, pepper, the laurel leaf, thyme and parsley. Add salt to taste and heat until it's boiling.

The pretty little sea snails known as whelks are commonly served in France – where they're called bulots or buccins – often cold and accompanied by aïoli for dipping. If you're lucky enough to live in a city with a well-stocked Asian supermarket with a great seafood department, that's a good place to find them. Don't be alarmed if they don't look exactly like these (sometimes they're striped or ridged); 'whelk' is a loose term that describes several types of sea snail. You want the ones that are about an inch and a half long, not the large ones. In any case, they couldn't be easier to prepare, and with their garlicky mayo make a fabulous nibble with a glass of rosé on a summer evening.

The instructions for aïoli are for a traditional one, with the option of adding finely chopped basil for an herbal twist. You might want to do half basil aïoli and half traditional; if you want only basil aïoli, consider doubling the leaves and tossing them into the blender halfway through the emulsifying process for a smooth, uniform texture and color. You can use either a blender or a food processor for this; with a blender, the aïoli – a garlicky, mayonnaise-like emulsion – is less likely to 'break,' or have the oil separate out. If you use a food processor, chop the garlic finely in the food processor first before adding the other ingredients, and when you begin to add the oil, be sure to add it very slowly in the beginning. If it does break, don't panic: put a fresh egg yolk in a separate bowl, and slowly whisk in the broken aïoli.

The whelks may be served warm, cooled to room temp or chilled in the fridge, making them an ideal party bite. They can be a little tricky to eat: remove the hard flap, then use a toothpick to gently coax the meat out of the shell.

Serves 4-6 as an hors d'oeuvre.

For the whelks:

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 pounds whelks

Bulots Mayonnaise Salad Dressing

2 bay leaves

1/2 onion, sliced

5 or 6 thyme sprigs

A splash of white wine

Sea salt

Instructions

1. Place the whelks in a bowl, cover with cold water and let them sit 10 minutes. Rinse.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the bay leaves, onion, thyme, white wine and a generous amount of sea salt. Add the whelks, and if you're going to serve them warm, cook them 20 minutes, adjusting the heat so they're boiling but not clanging around too much. Drain them and serve with aïoli. If you're going to serve them room temp or chilled, cook for 15 minutes, remove the covered pan from the heat and then let them cool in the water. Then drain and serve with the aïoli, or chill.

For the aïoli:

Ingredients

5 garlic cloves, peeled

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of half a medium lemon of average juiciness)

Assiette De Bulots Mayonnaise

1/2 cup olive oil

salt

1 tablespoon finely chopped basil (about 5 large leaves – optional)

Instructions

1. Place the garlic in the bowl of a blender with the egg yolk, mustard and lemon juice. Pulse until the garlic is finely chopped and the ingredients are combined.

2. With the blender running, very slowly pour the oil in a very thin stream until it is all incorporated. Add salt to taste.

3. If you want to make some of it into basil aïoli, place half the aïoli into a small bowl and stir in the chopped basil.

We call them bulots here; in English they’re sea snails (Buccinum undatum). Whatever their moniker, they’re one of the tastiest morsels that comes from the sea. They’re also one of the most common,at least here in Normandy. On any given day in any given poisssonerie, or fish market, or at any given fish stand in the market, bulots are always present.

Bulots Mayonnaise Salad

Bulots are sold both raw and cooked. If they’re cooked, all that need be done is carry them home, put them in a bowl, pull out toothpicks, lemon, and mayonnaise and voila! Lunch is served.

I like to cook bulots myself, to insure their tenderness. I am always amazed that my children tuck into these creatures with abandon, pulling them from their shells and dipping them into mayonnaise. It is at moments like these that I realize I have raised French children. they like their sea snails, they sometimes make the mayonnaise that is indispensably served with them.

Cooking bulots is a simple affair. It requires heavily salted water (to replicate sea water), herbs like bay, thyme, fennel, parsley. I add a half lemon to the water, as well as a sliced onion. I add the bulots to cold water, bring it to a boil and leave it there for 15 minutes. Then, I remove the pan from the heat and let the bulots cool in the water. If I’m going to serve them immediately I drain them. Otherwise, I leave them in their cooking water until I’m ready to serve them, which might be two to three days hence. They keep perfectly for that length of time.

Bulots Mayonnaise Substitute

Mayonnaise is obligatory with little things from the sea. I make mine flavored with lemon zest, and tarragon from the garden at this time of year. This makes it even nicer and more fresh than ordinary home made mayonnaise. It’s a simple affair to make. Put an egg yolk, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and a tablespoon of vinegar in a bowl. Whisk in a big pinch of salt, then a very thin stream of peanut or sunflower oil, until the mixture thickens. Finish it with a thin stream of extra-virgin olive oil, to the thickness you like. If you’re from Provence, you want your mayonnaise thick enough to stand a spoon in. In Normandy we like it a bit thinner – it’s the oil that determines the thickness.

If you don’t have bulots you can substitute whelk, abalone, or simple shrimp with your mayonnaise. Enjoy!