Weekly Recipes (from The Epicurean Cookbooks)

Lamprey à la Bordelaise

1 lamprey

8 leaks

2l of wine

1 onion

2 cloves

2 cloves of garlic

2 shallots

4 spoons of flour

Thyme, laurel, and quatre épices

1 or 2 squares of chocolate

2 slices of Bayonne Ham

5cl of Armagnac

Salt and pepper

Butter

Olive oil

 

• The night before, clean the leeks, only keeping the white parts, and chop them up
• Place them in a mixture of butter and oil, sprinkle the flour over, and brown off. Soften them with a litre of wine, add the onion studded with cloves, the garlic, a pinch of the quatre épices, the thyme and laurel, seasoning, and a cube of chocolate, and leave to reduce for a couple of hours
• In a fish kettle, bring water to the boil and poach the lamprey for a few seconds, then scrape off the mucus with a knife, but don’t peel off the skin. Open it up and clean it out, and then wash it completely under the tap
• Chop up the lamprey and marinate in half a bottle of wine, herbs, and seasoning in the refrigerator for 2 hours
• Warm up 2 diced shallots with 2 slices of ham in some olive oil, add the lamprey, and it there over a lively heat, and flambé with Armagnac at the end
• Add this to the other pan and simmer the whole lot through for 20 minutes

 

About Lampreys…

Lampreys have long been used as food for humans, highly appreciated by the Romans and enjoyed during the Middle Ages by upper classes across Europe, especially during Lent when meat is forbidden, for the lamprey is especially ‘meaty’. King Henry of England was particularly fond of them and, despite medical advice regarding their richness, continued to eat them late into life and is said to have died from a surfeit of lampreys!