Eel Pie

Ingredients

• 1 lb eels
• chopped parsley
• 1 shallot
• grated nutmeg
• pepper
• salt
• 0.5 lemon juice
• small quantity forcemeat
• 150 ml béchamel sauce
• puff pastry

Method

Skin the eels by nailing the head to a board, then working a sharp knife under the skin and peeling it back in one motion—they're slippery, so salt your grip. Gut them, rinse thoroughly in cold water to remove any blood from the dorsal cavity, then cut into 5 cm lengths. Pat dry. This matters: wet flesh steams rather than braises, and it'll leach into the pastry.

Spread a thin layer of forcemeat across the base of your pie dish—roughly 5 mm, enough to anchor the fish without overwhelming it. Arrange the eel pieces in a single layer, then season aggressively with the shallot, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. A pinch of nutmeg with eel isn't ornament; it masks the muddier bottom-feeding notes. Add lemon juice across the top—the citric acid fish braises more tenderly and cuts the richness. Cover with puff pastry, pressing the edges firmly into the lip of the dish. Egg-wash the surface (not specified in the original, but non-negotiable), then cut a small vent to release steam.

Bake at 200°C for 50–55 minutes. The pastry will be deep golden and taut when ready—it should sound hollow if you tap it. The eel underneath will have rendered its gelatin into the forcemeat, creating a subtle set that holds when sliced. This is crucial: the pie must rest for 5 minutes out of the oven before you pour the sauce, or you'll have a collapsed, soggy bottom.

Make your béchamel sauce|béchamel separately—equal parts butter and flour (roux), cooked out for two minutes to lose the raw flour taste, then whisked into hot milk. Season with salt, white pepper, and a scraping of nutmeg to echo the filling. Strain it through fine mesh to catch any lumps. Pour it into the pie through the vent steam-hole while both pie and sauce are hot. The emulsification of the béchamel's butter into milk will bind with the gelatinous eel stock already in the dish, creating a cohesive filling that won't separate as it cools.