Capitone in Umido with Grilled Polenta
Home version — use fresh eel from a fishmonger (cleaned) or substitute monkfish
- Difficulty
- Total time
- 4 h
- Hands-on
- 1 h 30 min
- Cost
- ¥¥¥¥
- Servings
- 4
Equipmentheavy pan, pot, loaf tin, grill pan
Tasterich, umami, tangy, herby
Ingredients
+ added by Totsuki AI. ≈ amount estimated by Totsuki AI.
Eel stew
- 1 kg capitone eel, cleaned and cut into 6 cm pieces (amount estimated)
- 3 tbsp olive oil (amount estimated)
- salt, to taste (amount estimated)
- black pepper, to taste (amount estimated)
- 1 onion, finely chopped (amount estimated)
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced (amount estimated)
- 150 ml white wine (amount estimated)
- 800 g San Marzano tomatoes, canned, crushed (amount estimated)
- ½ tsp chili flakes (amount estimated)
- 2 bay leaves (added by Totsuki AI)
- basil leaves, to taste (amount estimated)
Grilled polenta
- 150 g polenta, cornmeal (amount estimated)
- 700 ml water (added by Totsuki AI)
- 1 tsp salt (added by Totsuki AI)
- 20 g butter (added by Totsuki AI)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (added by Totsuki AI)
Method
+ step written by Totsuki AI.
Grilled polenta
1Bring the water and salt to a boil, rain in the polenta while whisking and cook, stirring, for 35–40 minutes. Stir in the butter, pour into an oiled loaf tin and chill until firm.+
Eel stew
2Season the eel and sear it in the olive oil until lightly browned. Remove.+
- 3
Soften the onion and garlic in the same pan, deglaze with the white wine and reduce by half.+
- 4
Add the tomatoes, chili and bay leaves and simmer for 20 minutes into a thick sauce.+
- 5
Return the eel and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes until tender. Season and tear in basil.+
Finish
6Cut the polenta into thick slabs, brush with oil and grill until crisp and striped. Serve the eel in its sauce with two pieces of polenta.+
Food safety
- Eel blood is toxic raw — have the fishmonger clean the eel and cook it thoroughly.
- Eel blood is toxic raw — only use eel that has been cooked (e.g. store-bought kabayaki).