WHEN YOU HAVEN’T GOT AN EEL

 

All-i-pebre means "garlic and pepper." It's a Valencian fish stew usually made with eel. This version is with monkfish.

Writing about the foods of València recently, I was reminded of my visit to the great Mercat Central de València where, amongst other fabulous produce, seafood and meats, I saw tanks of live eels. 

Eels are fished in the nearby Albufera, wetlands where rice is grown, not far from València capital. At Restaurante Matandeta in Alfafar, while waiting for our paella to cook, I sampled a dish of eels, prepared all-i-pebre. 

“All” means “garlic” in Valencian lingo and pebre is “pepper,” in this case, specifically dried red peppers that are ground to powder—pimentón. Pimentón here is the same as sweet paprika, not smoked pimentón de la Vera. 

Eel is anguila, a fish that spawns in the Sargasso Sea between Bermuda and the Azores. The larvae migrate with the Gulf Stream to estuaries on the European continent. Tiny elvers, netted at this stage, are called angulas and are prized catch. The ones that escape capture make their way up rivers and spend the next 10 years growing into full-sized eels. 

Where I live, eel does not turn up in the local markets. But this simple fishermen’s stew can be made with almost any seafood. Monkfish (angler or, in Spanish, rape) is a firm-fleshed fish that is perfect. Rosada would also be a good substitute for eel.

Pimentón gives the ruddy color to the stew of fish and potatoes. A little hot chile adds pungency.

Monkfish with Garlic and Pimentón

All-i-Pebre de Rap

Vary the amount of garlic and pimentón to suit your tastes. This is one dish in which a dose of hot chile—guindilla—is used. Again, to taste.

Monkfish instead of eel.

1 pound 14 ounces boneless monkfish 

Salt

6 cloves garlic

Parsley leaves

1 teaspoon coarse salt

2 pounds potatoes 

½ cup olive oil

Crushed dry red chile (to taste)

2 tablespoons pimentón (paprika)

4 cups water or fish stock

Chopped parsley to garnish

Cut the fish fillets crosswise into 2 ½-inch chunks. Sprinkle them with salt and allow to come to room temperature.

Peel the cloves of garlic, chop them coarsely and place in a mortar with a few leaves of parsley and the coarse salt. Crush the garlic to a paste.

Add pimentón to potatoes.

Peel and snap the potatoes into, roughly, 1- to 1 ½- inch pieces. Heat the oil in an earthenware cazuela or deep pan on medium heat. Fry the potatoes slowly, turning frequently, 5 minutes. The potatoes shouldn’t brown. Scrape the crushed garlic into the pan with the potatoes. Stir and fry 5 minutes more.

Add the crushed chile and pimentón to the potatoes. Add the water or stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat and cook 5 minutes. Add the chunks of fish and cook, turning the fish once, until it is cooked through and potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.

More foods from Valencia here.