Eels à la Tartare

Ingredients

• 2 lb eels
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• flour
• 1 glass sherry
• salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• butter

Method

Start the braising liquid first. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the carrot and onion cut into rough chunks. Cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally — you're softening the vegetables and beginning to extract their sweetness, not browning them. Dust with flour, stir to coat, then pour in the sherry. Add salt, pepper, and a small pinch of nutmeg. Bring to a boil and simmer for thirty minutes. This initial braise builds a flavoured stock; the flour acts as a binder for the sauce you'll finish with.

While the base reduces, prepare the eels. Skin them by nailing the head to a board and making a shallow cut around the neck, then pulling the skin downwards with a cloth — this removes the protective mucus layer that would otherwise make them slip in the pan. Gut and wash thoroughly, then cut into five-centimetre pieces. When the braising liquid has been going for half an hour, strain out the vegetables, return the liquid to the pan, and add the eel pieces. The fish needs gentle heat now — simmer rather than boil, or the delicate flesh tears apart. Eel is gelatinous and rich; it will become tender in fifteen to twenty minutes. You'll know it's ready when a fork slides through without resistance and the flesh begins separating from the spine.

Lift out the eel pieces with a slotted spoon and spread them on a plate to cool completely. Stir the vinegar into the remaining sauce — this is your sauce piquante, the acidity cutting through the richness of the eel's natural oils and the butter. Taste and adjust seasoning now; the dish depends on this acid-salt balance.

Once the eel is cold, beat the egg in a shallow bowl and spread breadcrumbs on a separate plate. Coat each piece first in egg, then roll in breadcrumbs, pressing gently so they adhere. Shallow-fry in butter over medium-high heat until the crust turns deep golden and crisp on all sides — about three minutes total. The contrast between the crisp exterior and the soft, sweet flesh underneath is the point of this finish. Arrange on a serving dish and pour the sauce piquante around (not over) the pieces so the crust stays intact. Serve immediately while the eel is still warm and the crust holds its crack.