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    Eel in green sauce (paling in 't groen)

    paling in 't groen / anguilles au vert

    Pieces of eel simmered in white wine and fish stock, then served in a bright green sauce of blended spinach, chervil, parsley, mint, sorrel and marjoram. This is Jeroen Meus's pared-down version from the VRT programme Dagelijkse kost, eaten with brown bread or boiled potatoes. The European eel is now critically endangered.

    Location: Flanders, Belgium
    Servings
    4
    Preparation
    15 min
    Cooking
    30 min
    Total
    45 min
    Difficulty
    Moderate

    Equipment

    • Wide, deep pan with a lid
    • Second pan of boiling water and a sieve for blanching
    • Blender and stick blender
    Servings4

    Ingredients

    • The eel

    • The green sauce

    Shopping list

    Method

    1. Rinse the eels under running water and run a finger along the belly cavity to remove any traces of blood.

    2. Melt a knob of butter in a wide, deep pan over a medium heat and soften the shallots and garlic in the foaming butter.

    3. Cut each eel into pieces about 7 cm long; do not use the thin tail end. Add them to the pan and let them stew briefly with the shallots.

    4. Pour in the wine and let the raw taste of the alcohol cook off. Add the fish stock and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

      Why A gentle simmer keeps the eel pieces whole; fish is cooked when the flesh is opaque and comes away easily.

      Timer · 20 min20:00

    5. Meanwhile bring a pan of water to the boil. Pick the herbs, removing tough stalks. Set the sorrel and marjoram aside; put the spinach and the other herbs into the boiling water and leave them only until it boils again.

    6. Drain the greens in a sieve and run cold water over them, then blend to a smooth, runny purée. Add the sorrel and marjoram and blend once more.

      Why Blanching and cooling fixes the green colour; raw sorrel and marjoram keep their sharp, fresh taste.

    7. Lift the eel out of the pan. Pour the herb purée into the cooking liquid, add a knob of butter, season with salt and pepper, and froth the sauce lightly with a stick blender. Return the eel and serve.

    To drink & serve with

    • Meus serves it with fresh brown bread or boiled potatoes.

    Substitutions

    • Fish fumet → A light fish stock; avoid stock cubes heavy in salt, as the sauce is not reduced much.
    • Sorrel → A squeeze of lemon gives some of the same sharpness (editorial suggestion).

    Common mistakes

    • Boiling the eel hard: the pieces break up.
    • Blanching the herbs too long: the sauce turns olive-grey.
    • Making the green purée hours ahead: it loses colour and freshness.

    Storage & reheating

    Best eaten fresh. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat within 2 days; reheat gently until steaming hot (the green will darken).

    Safety

    Contains fish, milk (butter) and sulphites (wine). Cook the eel until the flesh is opaque and separates easily (63 °C at the centre, US FDA). The European eel is critically endangered on the IUCN Red List; Flanders is obliged under the EU Eel Regulation to help it recover. Choose eel of known, legal origin, or treat this as an occasional dish.

    Allergens

    Fish · Milk · Sulphites

    Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

    Dietary

    gluten-free

    A river dish in a green sauce

    Paling in 't groen, in French anguilles au vert, is eel cooked in a sauce of green herbs. Jeroen Meus notes that there are many recipes for it and that he keeps his simple: shallot, garlic, white wine and fish stock for the eel, then a sauce of spinach, chervil, parsley, mint and sorrel, with marjoram, which he calls palingkruid, the eel herb. He serves it with fresh brown bread or boiled potatoes.

    The fish itself is now a conservation problem. The Flemish research institute INBO reports that the European eel has declined sharply for decades and is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. A major cause is that glass eels cannot swim upstream from the sea; at Nieuwpoort, Ostend and Zeebrugge the sluices are now opened slightly at rising tide in spring to let them through, an obligation under the EU Eel Regulation.

    [1][2]

    Blanch, cool, blend

    The colour comes from treating the herbs in two ways. Spinach, chervil, parsley and mint are blanched only until the water returns to the boil, cooled under the tap and blended to a smooth purée; the sorrel and marjoram go in raw at the end. The purée is then whisked into the eel's cooking liquid with a little butter and frothed with a stick blender, so the sauce stays light and very green.

    [1]

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