Lumache Marinara -- Sailor-Style Tomato Sauce with Snails

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil, extra virgin
• 5 cups plum tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1-1/2 tbsp. parsley, chopped
• 3/4 tbsp. basil
• 1/4 tsp. black ground pepper
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 6 tbsp. tomato paste
• 5 dozen snails, with shells

1. Brown garlic in oil, add tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add the oregano and tomato paste; cook for 20 minutes.
3. If sauce starts to thicken up, add a 1/2 cup of water, a little at a time, until the correct consistency is attained.
4. Cook sauce for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
5. Marinara sauce should be to the thinner side, not like the other tomato sauces.
6. Meanwhile, break up the chopped tomato as much as you can.
7. About 20-25 minutes before the sauce is complete, add the snails, all at once.
8. Increase the heat beyond simmer when the snails are added and keep the sauce just below the boiling point.
9. Stir the snails occasionally during that time.
10. Serve in bowls with picks for the snails, and crusty bread to sop up the marinara sauce.

garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, parsley, basil, black ground pepper, salt, oregano, tomato paste

Taken from www.foodgeeks.com/recipes/18767 (may not work)