A Thursday afternoon, we were chatting to our fish monger when he pointed us at something new and would we like to try it? He pointed at Purple Dye Murex or Spiny Dye Murex. In Dutch these sea snails are called Brandhoren of Stekelhoren, in German Herkuleskeule or Brandhorn, in French Murex Épineux or Murex Tinctorial, in Spanish Cañaílla and in Catalan Corn Amb Pues.
The name is intriguing. The French ‘tinctorial’ and the English ‘purple dye’ clearly refer to the milky secretion of the snails. When exposed to air it turns into a powerful and lasting dye, which was used in ancient times to produce purple. You would need lots and lots of snails to get a decent amount of dye, hence the fact that purple is still associated with royalty, dignity and being expensive.
The German name Herkuleskeule refers to Hercules. One day our hero was walking his dog on the beach when the dog bit on a sea snail. The dog’s mouth turned purple and that’s how purple dye was discovered. We love stories like this!
A painting by Peter Paul Rubens shows this scene on the beach, although the snail in the painting looks more like an escargot.

Back to our culinary world. The sea snail is popular in Spain and Catalonia, so we think it’s best to combine a portion of snails with other food (for instance smoked almonds, chorizo, olives, manchego, pimientos de padrón) and serve as tapas.
Another option is to add the snails to a stew but then you wouldn’t see the impressive shells. 
We decided to combine the sea snails with a vinaigrette. A tasty, simple combination.
Next time we will combine the Purple Dye Murex with aioli because we think the snails can do with a more velvety sauce.

Wine Pairing

A glass of Cava, a cold beer or a glass of Vinho Verde will be wonderful. The wine shouldn’t be too complex, and it should bring sufficient acidity to the dish.

What You Need

• For the snails
  • 200 grams of Purple Dye Murex
  • Small shallot
  • Thyme
  • One Garlic Clove
  • White wine
  • One bay leaf
• For the dressing
  • Excellent Olive Oil
  • White Wine Vinegar
  • Lemon Juice
  • French Mustard
  • Red Onion

What You Do

1. Ask your fish monger if the snails are clean
2. If not, you will have to soak them a number of times for a few hours in salty water
3. Heat a pan with water and add chopped shallot, thyme, chopped garlic, bay leaf and wine
4. After 15 minutes add the snails
5. Allow to simmer for between 10 to 30 minutes. We cooked our snails for 20 minutes, but that was perhaps too long. Ask your fish monger for advice
6. In the meantime, finely chop the small red onion and make a vinaigrette
7. Allow the snails to cool until lukewarm or at room temperature
8. Serve with the vinaigrette and other tapas