Whether grilled, preserved, or added to a hearty stew, residents of the Adriatic village Comacchio are skilled at making eel, their local famed ingredient, shine.
Up until the 1950s, there were no roads to Comacchio—the sleepy fishing outpost was only accessible by water—so it’s understandable that the Italian town and its people still have an air of superstition when it comes to outsiders. It hasn’t progressed like the more touristy destinations nearby dotting the Adriatic coast , but travelers prepared to forego some modern luxuries will be rewarded with a trip back in time. That, and a taste of its most delicious export: eel.
First, an antipasti of fried then pickled anchovy, sardines, and smelt rolls out, followed by penne in a rich mantis shrimp and tomato sauce. Next, fried school prawns and whitebait act as show openers to the star dish: grilled eel on humble polenta. None of this fritto misto gets a drop of lemon juice ; the flavor is so superior, locals consider it somewhat of an insult to attempt to embellish it further.
Early in the morning, a local checks his nets in front of his home for any eel or fish he may have trapped overnight. In Comacchio, eels once translated into big business, and excessive stock prompted the development of preservation methods to maximize profits. Roasted then cooled, the pieces are placed in a simple brine of vinegar, water, and bay, before being sealed in cans with the original 1950s packaging worthy of design awards. Nowadays eels rule the town for tourism rather than large-scale manufacturing.
At the outskirts of Comacchio, fences made of reeds act as traps to catch fish and eel out on the Po Delta. The stone building is one of the old warehouses where stock was cooked and preserved.
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