Conger

To be honest, I didn't know what conger was when I bought it. Yes, I figured it was a large fish or something along those lines, but it was just 4 slices in the pack and therefore hard to judge. When I came home I could consult my dictionary and learn that conger is salt water eel. This would be a first for me: cooking eel.

Ingredients:
- 4 slices conger
- about 1 cup white wine
- potatoes (for 2)
- 1 onion
- 3 tsp capers
- 250 g (1/2 lb) green beans
- fresh flat-leaf parsley

The conger came in slices about 2 cm (3/4") thick, gutted and cleaned, but with bones and skin. The fillets were seasoned with salt and pepper and seared in a large pan on both sides for a few minutes. Then added a little less than half of the wine, covered and left on medium high heat until the wine was reduced, then added an equally big portion of wine and repeated. The whole process took some 30-40 minutes and the conger fillets were turned from side to side occasionally.

While the conger was cooking, small potatoes were rinsed and boiled in lightly salted water. In a separate pot, fresh green beans likewise.

At the end of the second wine reduction the conger was moved to the side of the pan, the whole in the middle filled up with onion rings, capers, and a final bit of white wine.

Served with freshly cut flat leaf parsley.