Matelote d’Anguille

1. Remove the skin of the eel and slice it into small pieces.
2. Take a large pot.
3. Peel off the shallots and garlic cloves.
4. Chop the shallots, garlic cloves and bouquet garni.
5. Add these into the pot.
6. Add the smoked bacon slice, pieces of eel and white wine into the pot.
7. Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Add water into the pot and bring the mixture to boil.
9. Let it cook on low heat for 20 minutes covered with a lid.
10. While the fish cooks on low heat, heat up a non-stick frying pan.
11. Melt butter into the pan.
12. Add chopped onions into it and cook for 15 minutes without let it turn brown.
13. After the onions have turned golden brown and the stew on the stove has been simmering for 20 minutes, remove the eel from the stew and add it into the frying pan.
14. Cook the stew on high heat for 10 minutes to reduce it considerably.
15. In a small bowl, mix up some butter with a teaspoon of flour and water.
16. Add it into the pot after 10 minutes and mix up well with the ingredients.
17. Then add the eel and frying onions into the pot as well.
18. Cover the pot again and cook on low heat until almost all the liquid is dried up.
19. When it’s done, serve hot with your favorite side!

Trivia

• Matelote translates to ‘the dish of sailors’ as sailors wouldn’t have fish with any other method of cooking after catching it.

Although, it is made only with fish now, matelote was once prepared with veal and boiled eggs.