Spaghetti with Sea Snails

Method

1. Wash the murici thoroughly and then soak them in cold water with salt (25g salt per liter of water) for about 2 hours to purge.
2. In a pot, place the murici, add bay leaves, a whole crushed garlic clove in its skin, the parsley stems, and half a glass of dry white wine. Add enough cold water to just cover the murici. Optionally add a few peppercorns. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
3. After cooking, remove the murici and let them cool. Extract the meat from each shell, discarding the intestine and the membrane.
4. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente.
5. While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce: heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan. Add the minced garlic (remove the germ if preferred) and chopped chili pepper. Sauté until golden.
6. Add the cleaned murici meat to the pan, season with salt, and pour in the remaining dry white wine. Increase heat to high and cook until the alcohol evaporates.
7. Add the quartered cherry tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes. If the sauce dries too much, add a little pasta cooking water.
8. When the pasta is ready, drain it (reserving some cooking water) and add it to the pan. Increase heat to high and toss well, adding a splash of pasta water if needed to keep it moist.
9. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the chopped parsley leaves and, if using, a spoonful of bottarga. Drizzle with raw extra virgin olive oil.
10. Serve immediately.