503. Eels, Stewed A L'Anglaise

The eels being skinned, trimmed, and cut into pieces about two inches long, place them in a stewpan, with some sliced carrot, onion, parsley, bay-leaf, and thyme, a handful of mushroom trimmings, a few pepper-corns, four cloves, a blade of mace, and a little salt; moisten with half a bottle of Port wine, cover with a round of buttered paper, replace the lid on the stewpan, and set the eels on the stove-fire to stew. When they have boiled gently on the corner of the stove for about twenty minutes, they will be done ; then drain and trim them, keeping their liquor to make the sauce; place the pieces of eel in a clean stewpan, and then proceed to make a sauce for them in the following manner:-Put about two ounces of fresh butter into a stewpan on the fire, and as soon as it is melted, add two tablespoons-ful of flour; with a wooden spoon stir them both together over the fire, until the roux, or thickening, becomes slightly colored; then throw in a couple of shalots, and moisten gradually with the liquor in which the eels have been stewed, adding thereto a small ladleful of good stock, and a couple of glasses of Port wine. Stir the sauce over the fire till it boils, and set it on the corner of the stove, to continue gently throwing up the scum, which, having entirely removed, reduce the sauce, if necessary, to its proper consistency; and then pass it through a tammy into the stewpan containing the pieces of eel already mentioned. Just before sending to table, add a few prepared button-mushrooms, a pat of fresh butter, some chopped and blanched parsley, lemon-juice, and a very small quantity of essence of anchovy ; toss the whole well together over the fire until well mixed; then dish the eels up in a pyramidal form on their dish, pour the sauce over them, garnish round with a dozen croutons of fried bread, and send to table.

504. Matelotte Of Eels, A La Bordelaise

Cut some eels into three-inch lengths, place them in a stewpan with sliced carrot, onion, parsley-roots, mushrooms, thyme, and bay-leaf, mace, four cloves, and a few pepper-corns ; season with a little salt, and moisten with a bottle of claret. Set the eels to stew on the fire, and when done, drain, trim, and place them in a clean stew-pan with a little of their liquor to moisten them. Then put the remainder of the liquor into a stewpan with a ladleful of brown sauce, some essence of mushrooms, and two glasses of claret; let this boil, then set it by the side of the stove to continue gently boiling, that it may throw up the scum, and become bright; when this is effected, reduce it to its proper consistency, by boiling it down quickly, stirring the sauce the whole time with a wooden spoon to prevent its sticking to the bottom of the stewpan and burning. Then pass the sauce through a tammy into a bain-marie, and just before using it, make it hot, and incorporate with it the following preparations: - mix a pint of butter with three anchovies, a tea-spoonful of capers, a clove of garlic, and a little nutmeg, pound the whole together and pass them through a sieve : having well worked this into the sauce, pour it over the matelotte, and dish up the latter as follows: - place the pieces of eel on the dish, in circular order - each piece resting on the other, with a glazed crouton of bread between - fill the centre with quenelles of perch, place a trimmed and glazed crayfish across each crouton, and garnish round the inner edge of the dish with alternate groups of white muscles, button-mushrooms, and stewed button-onions.