Eel Soup

Ingredients

• 3 lb eels
• 1 onion
• 2 oz butter
• 3 mace blades
• 1 bunch sweet herbs
• 0.25 oz peppercorns
• to taste salt
• 2 tbsp flour
• 120 ml cream
• 1 litre water

Method

Cut the eels into 5cm rounds — this length holds the flesh together during the long simmer better than thin slices, which shed meat into the broth and muddy the flavour. Rinse them under cold water to remove surface slime. This matters: the mucilage will make your soup cloudy and bitter if left on.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over moderate heat and add the eel pieces without crowding. You're not trying to colour them — let them cook gently for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until they release their first waters. The protein denatures and begins to consolidate the broth's structure. Pour in the litre of water, then add the onion (sliced into thick half-moons, not thin), the mace blades, peppercorns, salt, and the herb bundle tied loosely with twine so you can fish it out cleanly later. Bring to a bare simmer — rolling bubbles at the surface, not a roiling boil — and leave it for 40–50 minutes. The flesh will turn opaque and begin to separate from the bones. Test a piece: the meat should flake easily when pressed against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. If the broth still tastes thin and watery, push the timing another 10 minutes.

Once the eel is cooked through, lift out every piece with a slotted spoon and transfer to a warm bowl, taking care not to break the rounds. Discard the herb bundle, onion, and whole spices — strain them out with a fine sieve if they're stubbornly submerged. The broth should taste of the eel's delicate, faintly sweet minerality with a hint of mace.

Whisk the flour with the cold cream until you have a smooth slurry — this prevents lumping when you temper it into the hot soup. Bring the broth to a rolling boil and pour the cream mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly. The flour acts as a binding agent for the cream, preventing it from splitting. Simmer for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste, then return the eel pieces to the pot and warm through. Taste for salt — a pinch more usually settles the flavour. Pour into wide bowls and serve with crusty bread to break up the eel.