Patella vulgata

Worldwide Recipes

Recipes from Madeira
• Limpets with Garlic Butter
• Limpet Escabèche
• Rice with Limpets

Cooking tips

• Wash the limpets well; insert the point of a knife to open the shell and detach the mollusk;
• remove any dark sections; place the limpet on a work surface and tap it firmly with a wooden kitchen mallet to tenderize it without crushing it;
• ideally, do not collect limpets during low tide when they have been uncovered too long;
• though very common, limpets are rarely used in cuisine because the cooking is tricky. Overcooked for a few seconds and the flesh starts to toughen;
• in Madeira, limpets are a traditional hors-d'oeuvre; the "lapas" are placed in sizzling garlic butter and become perfectly cooked in the time it takes to get from the kitchen to the table