Jane Grigson's Fish Book - Jane Grigson [69]
MATELOTE D’ANGUILLE DE TANTE MARIE
A recipe from the Vendômois that is really a good and homely dish. Things from the garden, onions and flageolet beans and Jerusalem artichokes, mushrooms from the quarry caves where they are grown in the cool darkness, and eel from the sluices on the many mill leats and streams that flow into the Loir, all speak of that genuine local cooking which varies from house to house according to what is to hand. The eel is almost always skinned, on account of its fattiness, but if you find this too difficult, give the pieces a quick browning over a high heat in a heavy greased pan before you put them into the sauce.
Serves 4
1 eel weighing about 600 g (1¼ lb), skinned, cut up
salt, pepper
60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
1 level tablespoon plain flour
300 ml (10 fl oz) water from cooking dried beans or peas or vegetable stock
bouquet garni
12 medium-sized mushrooms
about 500 g (1 lb) Jerusalem artichokes, peeled, diced
300 ml (10 fl oz) Gamay or other red wine
12 small pickling onions
extra butter
sprinkling of sugar
Sprinkle the eel with salt and pepper and set aside. Melt the butter in a heavy pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Moisten with vegetable water, add the bouquet, mushrooms and artichokes. When the artichokes are almost tender, pour in the wine.
In the meantime, brown the onions in the extra butter with a sprinkling of sugar to help them caramelize. Add them to the pan with the wine. Boil for 3 minutes, steadily, check the seasoning and put in the eel pieces. Lower the heat to a simmer and give the eel 20 minutes. If some of the pieces are thin, it is prudent to check after 15 minutes and remove them if the flesh is parting easily from the bones. Put them back just before serving.
Provide bread and more of the Gamay or other wine used in the cooking.
GUY MOUILLERON’S JELLIED EEL MOUSSE WITH WATERCRESS SAUCE
When Guy Mouilleron left the Relais at the Café Royal to open his own restaurant, Ma Cuisine, in Walton Street in London, this was one of the most popular dishes on the menu. He gave me the recipe, which is a pattern for fish terrines of all kinds, and a base for elaborations of your own.
Serves 8
2 eels, weighing about 1¼ kg (2½ lb) in all, skinned, filleted
salt, pepper, nutmeg
3 egg whites
500 ml (17 fl oz) double cream, well chilled
SAUCE
1 bunch or handful of watercress
150 ml (5 fl oz) double cream, whipped
salt, pepper
For the fish mousse, cut off 375 g (12 oz) of the messiest looking eel fillet. Season the rest and set it aside for the moment.
Chill the blender goblet or bowl of the processor in which you will be making the mousse. When it is thoroughly cold, set it in motion and drop on to the whirling blades the 375 g (12 oz) of eel fillet, lubricating the mixture with the egg whites. Chill the whole thing again, then put it back in place, switch on and pour in the cream. Season it well. You should have a rich white coherent billowy-looking mixture.
Take a stoneware or earthenware terrine respectable enough to appear on the table. Put in a layer of the mousse, then a layer of eel fillets that had been set aside. Repeat and then finish with a layer of the mousse. Cut butter papers to fit into the terrine, on top of the last layer of mousse, then cover the whole thing right over with foil.
Either steam the mousse for an hour or put it into a pan of boiling water to come halfway up the side and bake in a moderate oven, preheated to gas 4, 180 °C (350 °F) for the same time. Remove the terrine to a cool place, and when cold, chill overnight.
To make the sauce, remove enough leaves from the bunch of watercress to make a tablespoon when chopped. Blend or process the rest of the leaves with the minimum of water to make a murky slush. Sieve and add to the whipped cream. Season and fold in the leaves.
Serve the mousse in slices, cut from the terrine at the table, with a spoonful of the sauce. Provide