My choice

MAYBE they are not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are a seafood fan, chances are you have tasted les bulots at some time.
To us they are more commonly known as whelks, or sea snails, but I always think the French name is better. In reality they are simply a bigger version of the winkle. But then again, I guess not everyone is too passionate about them either.
But after a couple of days in Cherbourg I couldn’t resist a handful when I was at the Farmers’ Market today.  I knew the winkles were live and needed to be cooked, and have become a dab hand at washing and preparing them. But I wasn’t too sure about les bulots — were they cooked or not?  So I was about to ask the lady who served me at the fish market stall, when I saw one crawling, or rather slithering up the side of the big bucket they were in.
Enough said, but I was still determined to take home a few as a special treat for tea. A delicacy, you might say.
After all, I enjoyed those I had at the yacht club in Cherbourg as a starter for lunch. True, I did not have to wash, prepare and cook those, but if I could do it with winkles these bigger versions should prove no difficulty.
Our daughter in another part of France might have put me off when she sent an online message saying there were some very similar to these in her garden, probably blown in by the wind from the coast.
By then I had made the garlic mayonnaise to go with them and wasn’t to be put off.
Now, with a bowl of winkles and these bulots, sorry, whelks, and a glass of wine I could be set for the evening.   If only I had bought one of those delightful looking French loaves as well when I was in the market to mop up what's left of the garlic mayonnaise.

I have said it before this week, but bon appétit!