Lamprey à la Bordelaise
Cooking Time: 2 good hours
Difficult
Ingredients (for 6 people):
- 1 lamprey
- 1 bottle of Bordeaux wine (Graves, Médoc, Saint-Emilion)
- 15 cl of peanut oil
- 2 shallots
- 1 large onion
- 2 slices of Bayonne ham
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 4 soup spoons of flour
- 1 bouquet garni
- 8 large leeks
- 5 cl cognac or armagnac
- 1 or 2 squares of chocolate (optional)
- salt and pepper
1. Tie up the lamprey by the head and cut into the tail with a knife, after
positioning it above a bowl to collect the blood. Let the blood drain out
completely (at least 2 hours).
2. Plunge the fish into boiling water and remove the central cord, the
head, tail and eggs. Clean it under running tap water.
3. Cut the lamprey into sections of about 4-5 cm and place them in a
marinade of cooked, flambéed wine.
4. In a pan, fry the shallots, onion and ham cut into pieces in the oil.
Add in the crushed garlic, the flour and the wine from the marinade, along
with the bouquet garni and leave to simmer gently for 1 hour. Add salt and
pepper.
5. Chop the leeks into pieces and fry gently, then put them into the
sauce.
6. Brown the pieces of lamprey (after draining thoroughly), flambé them
and then transfer them into the pan. Cook for 1 more hour.
7. Thicken the sauce with the lamprey’s blood and the chocolate, if you
wish. Leave to cook for 10 more minutes.
