A medina street-food classic of small land snails simmered in a fiercely aromatic broth built from a dozen or more herbs and spices. Diners pick the snails from their shells with a toothpick, then drink the warming, medicinal-tasting liquor.
Known as babbouche or ghlal, this spiced snail soup is a popular Moroccan street food sold from carts in medina squares, prized as a winter warmer.
The tiny snails are pleasantly chewy and earthy, but the real draw is the broth: hot, herbal, and bittersweet with anise, thyme, and licorice. It tastes almost like a savory medicinal tea, warming and slightly numbing on the lips.
A long, gentle simmer extracts the volatile oils from the many herbs and aromatics, building a complex broth while tenderizing the snails. Licorice and aniseed give the characteristic sweet-bitter, faintly cooling backbone.
Variations
with extra chili for heat, milder family versions, with added bay and clove, sold with bread on the side, broth-only servings
On the Palate
Where Babbouche sits in the Moroccan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 16 min
Purge the live snails in salted water for several hours, then rinse repeatedly until clean.
Watch outKeep purging until the water stays clear and the snails poke out and move — cloudy, gritty water means they need longer or they'll be sandy in the broth.
- 23 min
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the cleaned snails.
- 34 min
Add the spice and herb bundle: cumin, aniseed, fennel, thyme, licorice root, mint, and dried tea, plus chili.
- 42 min
Season with salt and bring everything to a steady simmer.
- 55 min
Skim any foam from the surface as the snails cook and the broth turns aromatic.
Watch outSkim the grey foam as it rises, before it boils back in — leave it and the broth turns muddy instead of clear and fragrant.
- 660 min
Simmer gently for about an hour until the snails are tender and the broth is deeply infused.
Watch outThe snails are done when the meat pulls out easily on a pick; rushing a hard boil makes them rubbery and hard to extract.
- 72 min
Taste and adjust the salt and chili heat of the broth.
- 83 min
Ladle snails and broth into bowls and serve hot with toothpicks for extracting the snails.
