AI-generated image
All i pebre
Eel and potato paprika stew
All i pebre: the Albufera's garlic and paprika stew of eel and potatoes, with a monkfish option
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb eelskinned and cut into 5 cm pieces (or 800 g monkfish or hake)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 10 clove garlicpeeled, half sliced and half left whole
- 1 slice day-old breadabout 25 g
- 1 small dried chilli (cayenne)or ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 ½ lb floury potatoespeeled
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a wide casserole over a medium heat. Fry the whole cloves from the 5 clove garlic, 15 blanched almonds and 1 slice day-old bread until all are golden, about 3 minutes, then lift out and pound or blend to a paste with a splash of water. This is the picada.
4 minStep 2: Add the sliced 5 clove garlic and 1 small dried chilli (cayenne) to the oil and fry for 1 minute until the garlic is pale gold.
1 minStep 3: Cut 1 ½ lb floury potatoes into 4 cm chunks by inserting a knife and snapping off each piece. Add to the pan and turn in the oil for 2 minutes.
2 minStep 4: Take the pan off the heat and stir in 1 tbsp sweet paprika for 10 seconds, then immediately pour in 3 ¼ cups water. Add 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly tender.
16 minStep 5: Add 2 ¼ lb eel and the picada and stir gently. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes (8 to 10 for monkfish), shaking the pan rather than stirring, until the fish is opaque and pulls easily from the bone and the sauce has thickened and turned glossy.
14 minStep 6: Rest for 5 minutes, taste for salt and serve in bowls with plenty of bread.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 36 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does all i pebre take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of floury potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta
Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.
Greek
Arroz con pitu de caleyaSoupy rice with chicken
A pitu de caleya is a cockerel raised free in the lanes, or caleyas, of rural Asturias; its firm, flavourful meat needs long stewing, and families around Villaviciosa and Grado still cook it for feast days. The stew is often finished as a soupy rice, so the deep chicken juices go into every grain. Use the best free-range chicken you can find. The braise includes dry white wine; replace it with extra stock and a squeeze of lemon if you want it alcohol-free. Chef's tip: brown the chicken slowly and deeply; that colour is where the flavour of the whole pot comes from.