Angulas
Baby eels flash-cooked in an earthenware cazuela with olive oil, garlic and a single dried chilli, a once-humble Basque treat now guarded as a luxury. The whole ritual is about timing: seconds too long and the delicate elvers toughen.
Approximate, per 1 cazuela (~100g) baby eels in garlic oil. Values vary by recipe and portion.
Ingredients
- ·200 g (about 7 oz) fresh or defrosted angulas (baby eels)
- ·120 ml (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- ·3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ·1 dried guindilla chilli, seeded and cut into rings
- ·A pinch of salt
Method
- 1
If the angulas are frozen, defrost them gently in the fridge and pat them completely dry with kitchen paper.
- 2
Put a small earthenware cazuela over medium heat, add the olive oil and warm the sliced garlic until it just turns pale gold.
- 3
Add the guindilla rings and let them sizzle for a few seconds to perfume the oil.
- 4
Tip in the angulas all at once, season with a pinch of salt and stir constantly with a wooden fork for 30 to 60 seconds, just until they turn white and hot through.
- 5
Carry the cazuela straight to the table, still bubbling, and eat immediately with the traditional wooden fork before the eels overcook.