Roast Eel, or Capitone Arrosto: This is a classic Christmas Eve dish from Altamura, in northwestern Puglia; the authors of Altamura Antichi Sapori note that prior to the general affluence of today it would have been served in well-to-do households. Since eel is fatty, you won't need to use much oil in the sauce below.

See Also

Other Christmas recipes from Altamura

La Galleria del Pesce

Selecting Fresh Fish and Figuring Cooking Times

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) eel, cut into pieces
  
• Olive oil
  
• Lemon or red wine vinegar
  
• Bay leaves

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes

• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings roast eel

Preparation

Spit the pieces of eel, putting bay leaves between the pieces. Make a sauce by whisking together some olive oil and vinegar (proportions to taste), and seasoning it with a little salt and pepper. Roast the eel over the coals, basting it every now and again with the sauce. In terms of cooking time, make all the pieces of fish about the same width, and cook it for 10 minutes per each inch (2.5 cm) of thickness of the pieces -- if you make the pieces 2 inches thick, figure about 20 minutes.

Fish is in any case done when it becomes white and flakes near the bone.

A wine? Since eel is quite fatty, I might be tempted by a zesty rosato, for example from the Castel del Monte or the Salentino.