Sauteed Eel with Persillade

It's eel-hunting season, baby! Of course it helps to get your fish monger to skin the eel alive....

450g skinned eel on the bone

25g plain flour, for dusting

persillade

10g peeled garlic

handful/15g flatleaf parsley leaves

1 tbsp sunflower oil

S&P

50g unsalted butter

1. cut the eel across into 5 cm pieces, then dust them with the flour and knock off excess
2. for the persillade, chop up garlic very finely, add parsley leaves and continue chopping them together
3. heat oil in large frying pan, add the eel pieces and saute on one side over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, seasoning them lightly with S&P as they cook
4. turn eels over, season once more and fry a further 2-3 minutes until cooked through
5. when eel is almost cooked, take a second frying pan, add the butter and melt it over a medium heat. Add the persillade and cook very gently for 15 seconds to take away the raw taste of the garlic
6. tip the fried eel pieces into the second pan and toss everything together well
7. transfer to a warmed serving plate, garnish with the lemon wedges and serve with plenty of good quality crusty bread