Good evening. As promised in last week's episode, this week on Cooking With Bradley features special guest Chef Pudding. So really, we will not be cooking with pudding, as the snappy title suggests, but Cooking With Pudding. In honour of Chef Pudding's homeland, we shall commence with a succulent dish enjoyed by Englishfolk everywhere: Jellied Eels. Fear not, it is fairly easy to make as long as you have fresh eels.
Jellied Eels
INGREDIENTS:
Eels - 900 g (2lb)
Grated nutmeg - pinch
Lemon - 1 zest and juice
Fresh herbs - a few, chopped
Fish stock - 600 ml (1 pint)
Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
Carrot - 1 small, finely chopped
Celery - 1 small, finely chopped
Bouquet garni - 1
Gelatine - 15g (.5 oz)
COOKING: 1. Skin and bone the eels but do not cut them up. Lay them on the table, skin side down and sprinkle with grated nutmeg, a little grated lemon zest and the chopped herbs.
2. Cut the fish into pieces about 4 inches long. Roll up each piece and tie with strong cotton or fine string. Put the stock, vegetables and bouquet garni into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the eels and simmer very gently until tender, for about an hour.
3. Lift out the fish take off the cotton or string and place the eels in a basin. Measure the stock and make up to 450 ml with water.
4. Add the gelatine to the lemon juice to dissolve the gelatine, then add this to the hot stock. Stir until completely dissolved. Strain this over the fish and leave to set.
5. Turn out when cold and serve with a green salad and sliced gherkins.
Cheers!
If the idea of eating eels is a bit foreign to you, think of eel as the veal of fish (not that I'd know about veal, being vegetarian, but it's what others say). My Landlady is a big fan of eel sushi:
Whereas my Landlord prefers the spider roll:
For Nonny, I'd recommend the Hello Kitty sushi special:
Whoops, I got distracted by sushi. It's easy to do.
Chef Pudding still refuses to tell me the secrets of his Yorkshire Pudding recipe, but I shall find it and exploit it for nefarious gastronomical purposes.
11 comments:
I just found this page, and love it--the pictures make me warm and happy and laugh-y.
DBD: You are kind, yea, kinder than I deserve. Of course, I will take what I can get, being a troublesome gorilla of some magnitude.
Oh yes over here in England we eat jellied eels all the time. In fact we have fast food restaurants that only serve jellied eels such as Eel Hut and Kentucky Jellied Eels plus McEels under the famous golden eels sign. Another thing, there are lots of flying pigs in our kingdom!
How cute is the Hello Kitty sushi? It's funny you show those, I was watching a special about competitive eating (don't judge me) and the champ is this guy in Japan and he was grocery shopping and he bought some Hello Kitty brand hot dogs! Swear to God. I believe in Japan they'll put HK on just about anything.
Mr. Pudding, you keep making fun of my man Brad and you'll be sleeping with the eels
Mr Pudding: Charlotte says that she prefers Eel Hut to Kentucky Jellied Eels, mainly because she doesn't think Kentucky knows how to jelly eels properly. She also got pooped on by a flying pig once, and even though it was supposed to be good luck, she was most put out, as she had just gotten a new fur-do.
Nonny: Someone who posts a recipe for jellied eels is hardly in a position to judge you. I'll try not to throw your tv out the window, but I can make no promises.
Hitman J: I think Mr Pudding is just grouchy because he had to buy my Landlady flowers.
eels have bones?
Oh! and I get to tell on myself - one incident where I wasn't a total pussy about food. I have eaten real-deal, homecooked octopus. I'm not talking like calamari stuff, I'm talking my dad caught one, by accident, while fishing for mackeral...he kept it???? brought it home, called up a buddy and figured out how to cook it. He had to boil it first, for just a few minutes, but then cut it up (I think you have to boil the sucker thingies off or something like that) into small pieces and baked it in the oven. I tried it. A decent couple of bites. Didn't like it, but I didn't wuss out! Oh, and I dreamed about sucker thingies for weeks after.
HitmanJ you may think you are the new Clint Eastwood but I could take you out anytime Buddy! Go stick an eel where the sun don't shine!
Lady K, At one restauraunt I frequent, they took the eel off the menu because they'd discovered carcinogens in it. When the eel returned to the menu, it wasn't like it was before... overcooked and such. By the way, someone told me that your very last bite should be a bit of the pickled ginger, and that will keep your stomach from becoming unsettled. It makes sense, but I'm a bit taken aback that I have to take precautions WHILE I'm eating my food.
Then again, some red meat does a big number on my system. A little pickled ginger (or lots! please, lots) is good to have on hand.
Jellied Eels are particularly favoured by members of the curious youth movement known as "pearly kings and queens" . They go around cussing in Cockney accents, frequently appear on Eastenders and never stop banging on about the Blitz. Quite rightly, they are banned from entering Yorkshire.
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