History

Córdoba eats snails for about three months a year and then stops entirely. The season opens around 28 February, Andalusia Day, and closes in late May or early June, and street stands appear across the city for exactly that window before vanishing again. The chicos are the small snails, cooked in a herb and cumin broth; the gordos are the larger cabrillas, usually served in an almond and pepper sauce. Caracoles La Magdalena has worked the same plaza since 1965 and is now on its fourth generation of the same family. The Mercado del Marrubial keeps a dedicated snail stall through the season.

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Common allergens: Molluscs

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1kg live small snails, purged
  • 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
  • 1 large bunch fresh mint
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 dried guindilla chilli
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • Salt

Method

  1. Rinse the purged snails repeatedly in cold water until the water runs clear.
  2. Put them in a pot with cold water to cover and heat very slowly so the snails come out of their shells before the water gets hot.
  3. Bring to the boil, skim, then drain and rinse the snails again.
  4. Return them to the pot with fresh water, the garlic, mint, cumin, bay, chilli and paprika.
  5. Simmer gently for 45 minutes, seasoning with salt only in the last 10 minutes.
  6. Rest off the heat for 30 minutes so the broth soaks in, then serve hot in cups with plenty of the liquid.

Tip from the editors. Heat the first water slowly. If it comes up fast the snails retract and stay locked in the shell.

Where to eat caracoles cordobeses

Caracoles cordobeses in Córdoba

Caracoles La Magdalena ★ 4.5

€ Street foodCorredera

Caracoles La Magdalena has sold snails from the same Córdoba plaza since 1965, under a fourth generation of the same family, for one season a year.

Why locals goIt only trades for about three months a year, opening on Andalusia Day and shutting by late May, so most visitors are never in town for it.

TipThe season opens on 28 February and closes in late May, and the stall vanishes entirely between times.

Directions

Mercado del Marrubial ★ 4.2

€ Food hallSanta Marina

The Marrubial is the biggest municipal market in Córdoba and sees no tourist trade at all, forty-five pitches including a stall selling only snails.

Why locals goIt is the only market in Córdoba with a dedicated snail stall among its pitches, and it runs ten fishmongers in a landlocked city.

TipGo before 11:00 if you want the fish counters at their best; everything shuts at 14:00.

Directions

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