Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [91]
Eel in Sweet-Sour Fruit Sauce
Eel… a fish that evokes prejudices even among the most adventurous of eaters. My first eel swam in a rich red wine stew, which I ate at a restaurant on the banks of the Loire River. Finding a fishmonger who sells fresh eels that he will skin for you is difficult, if not impossible. Poaching the eel first means you can skin it yourself; all you have to do is find your eel. Asian and Italian fish markets are the best source. Buy eels no larger than 2¼ pounds (1 kg) as they will be less fatty and take less time to cook.
This recipe was inspired by one from Michel Troisgros, a son of one of the famous brothers whose restaurant in Roanne, France, became so well known in the 1980s. Michel now has his own restaurant in Paris at the Lancaster Hotel. Matching eel with fruit is a good idea because it cuts through the richness of this fish. If prune plums are not in season, substitute another plum or increase the number of dried ones.
⅓ cup (75 ml) white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sugar
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 strips lemon zest
2 flat-leaf parsley stems
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
1 eel, about 1 pound (450 g), cleaned, beheaded, rinsed, and cut into 6 sections
6 pitted prunes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil ½ sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons flour
6 small purple prune plums, quartered and pitted
½ teaspoon finely grated ginger
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup (60 ml) chopped flat-leaf parsley
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1. Place 4 cups (1 l) water, the vinegar, salt, peppercorns, sugar, garlic, lemon zest, parsley stems, thyme, and bay leaf in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the largest eel pieces to the pan and simmer for 1 minute. Add the remaining pieces and simmer for 3 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Remove the eel and let cool slightly; reserve the cooking liquid. Once the eel is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and remove any fat. (Eel is similar to salmon in that you will be able to see a film of fat covering the flesh once the skin is removed.) Cut the eel into i-inch (2.5-cm) pieces.
3. Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve. Pour ‘A cup (125 ml) over the prunes in a small bowl and leave them to soak. Reserve the remaining cooking liquid.
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook until it starts to brown. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually pour in 1 cup (250 ml) of the cooking liquid (discard the rest), bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes.
5. Add the prunes, with their soaking liquid, the plums, and ginger and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the eel, and check the seasoning, adding pepper to taste. Add the chopped parsley and tomatoes and cook until heated through.
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Segmenting Citrus Fruit
Cut a thick slice off the top and the bottom of the fruit to expose the flesh. Stand the fruit upright on a cutting board and, cutting from the top down to the bottom, remove both the skin and the white pith in wide strips, working your way around the fruit. Hold the peeled fruit over a bowl
and, with a small sharp knife, cut along either side of each segment to the center to free it from the membranes, catching the juice in the bowl. Once you’ve removed all the segments, squeeze the juice from the membranes.
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Halibut Steaks with Orange Cream Sauce
Braising fish on the bone keeps the flesh juicy. If the halibut steaks are big, have your fishmonger split them. You can substitute other fish steaks as long as they are of a similar weight and, most important, thickness. The green beans match well with the orange sauce. If haricots verts are not available, use regular green beans cut diagonally in half.
Four 1 inch (2.5-cm)-thick halibut steaks, about 7 ounces (200 g) each
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon