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Capitone fritto
Fried eel
Capitone fritto: Naples's crisp fried eel for the Christmas Eve table
ItalianCapitone, the big female eel, is the star of Christmas Eve in Naples: families buy it at the markets in Porta Nolana or the Pignasecca on 23 December and fry it the next night as part of the meatless Vigilia dinner. Eels are said to represent the serpent of Eden, and eating them is said to bring luck for the year. Ask the fishmonger to kill, clean and cut the eel for you; at home you only need to cut, flour and fry. Chef's tip: marinate the eel pieces with vinegar and bay in the fridge for an hour; the acid tightens the skin and balances the rich, fatty flesh.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb eelkilled, cleaned, skinned if you like and cut into 5 cm pieces by the fishmonger
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 ⅞ oz plain flour
- 4 ¼ cups sunflower or peanut oilfor frying
- 1 lemonwedges
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Rinse 2 ¼ lb eel pieces and pat them dry. Put them in a bowl with 4 tbsp white wine vinegar, 4 bay leaves, 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp salt, cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 2: Drain the eel and pat it very dry, then toss in 2 ⅞ oz plain flour and shake off the excess.
Step 3: Heat 4 ¼ cups sunflower or peanut oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Fry the eel in batches for 6–8 minutes, until golden and crisp outside and the flesh is white, opaque and flakes easily from the bone. Common mistake: frying too hot; the outside burns before the thick pieces cook through.
20 minStep 4: Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with 1 lemon. The bones pull out easily as you eat.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does capitone fritto take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of white wine vinegar?
- Cider vinegar or rice vinegar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
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