Babbouche, escargots au bouillon — Marrakech, Morocco

On Jemaa el-Fna square, babbouche vendors serve their snails by the bowl, and the broth they come in is drunk afterwards almost like a remedy rather than left behind. Regular customers often ask for a cup of broth on its own, without the snails. The character of the dish sits in the spice mix rather than in the snails themselves: thyme, aniseed, liquorice, dried orange peel, gum arabic, chilli, mint and bay leaf are the base most vendors work from, though each keeps their exact proportions to themselves and treats the list as something not to be shared. Before cooking, the snails are purged and then rinsed thoroughly, first in water sharpened with vinegar and then in salted water, until the rinsing water runs clear. They are then simmered gently in the spiced broth for about an hour, long enough for the flavour to reach the flesh. Eating them is a small ritual: each snail is drawn out of its shell with a pin or a toothpick, and the meal ends with the broth itself, drunk hot and peppery, which vendors and customers alike describe as good for digestion and against colds, a belief carried by long habit rather than by any medical claim.