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By Root 957 0

A paradise for eels. And for eel fishermen – after a successful inspection of their nets they return to house or cave for wine. Most of the catch goes into a tank for the time being, but one or two are strung up and skinned. Meanwhile, a bundle of vine prunings is reduced to embers between two rows of bricks to make a rough barbecue. The pieces of eel are rubbed with coarse grey sea salt, placed on an iron rack over the heat and grilled gently to golden brown. I don’t think it is imagination to declare that eel grilled over vine prunings is the best way of all to cook it.

However, most of the Loir eels that are sold at market or to hoteliers will go into the richer, more elaborate dish of matelote. At least once every visit to Trôo, we go to the Hôtel de France at La Chartre-sur-le-Loir to eat Monsieur Pasteau’s matelote, a dish that in the twenty-five years we have been eating it never varies in quality. According to books of local cookery, Monsieur Pasteau also grills eel and serves it with grilled mushrooms, smoked bacon and tomatoes, plus straw potatoes and sauce tartare: there is also a recipe for pieces of eel, well seasoned and lavishly buttered, that are made into a pasty of puff pastry, in the style of an apple turnover.

These two dishes I have never seen on the menu, but I can vouch for the matelote which is stewed in red wine of the district, often with mushrooms from the old quarry caves that warren the low cliffs of the Loir. At Vouvray, on the great Loire, white wine is the natural choice. So it is at Saumur, and in Anjou where the dish is often called bouilleture de Loire. There, too, prunes are used to set off the delicate flavour of eel. They were once produced in Touraine, at Huistnes in particular, but now come from Agen far to the south – even (in small type, at the bottom corner of the packet) from California. It is surprising how well prunes go with river fish such as perch and lampreys – they are browned in butter, sprinkled with flour and left to stew or bake for half an hour in wine, with soaked prunes. Eel, though, seems to demand a little extra grandeur.

Serves 8

1 kg (2 lb) eel, skinned and cut up

3–4 tablespoons marc or brandy

4 tablespoons oil

salt, freshly ground black pepper

1 bottle white wine plus 1 large egg yolk and 90 ml (3 fl oz) double cream or 1 bottle red wine plus 1½ tablespoons plain flour and 2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)

175 g (6 oz) chopped shallot or onion

white of 1 leek, chopped (optional)

bouquet garni

Also choose an appropriate garnish:

LOIR

20–30 small glazed onions

20–30 small button mushrooms, cooked in butter

triangles of bread fried in butter

chopped parsley

ANJOU

as above, plus 25 large prunes

quarters of hard-boiled egg (optional)

VOUVRAY

20–30 small glazed onions

strips of streaky green bacon, browned in butter

20–30 small button mushrooms, cooked in butter

25 large prunes (optional)

Turn the pieces of eel in the brandy and oil, season well and leave for several hours or overnight. At the same time, put the prunes, if used, to soak in half the bottle of wine.

A good hour before the meal, simmer the rest of the wine with garlic, if used, onion, leek and bouquet garni for half an hour. Arrange the eel and prunes, with any liquor from them, in a large pan, and strain the seasoned wine over them. The eel and prunes should be just covered. Stew gently for 20–30 minutes until the eel is cooked. Meanwhile prepare the garnish.

To thicken the sauce: either mash butter and flour together, dividing the mixture into small lumps, then add them to the red wine stew gradually, stirring all the time so that the sauce thickens smoothly; or beat the egg yolk and cream, whisk in a little of the simmering white wine stew, and return to the cooking pot, which should be kept below the boil so that the sauce thickens without curdling.

Correct the seasoning, pour into a serving dish and arrange the garnish on top. With triangles of bread, dip one corner into the sauce, then into chopped