Catigot d'Anguilles de Camargue

Camargue, Bouches-du-Rhône — the wild eel stew of the Camargue wetlands, where Anguilla anguilla (European eel) has been harvested from the brackish étangs since Roman occupation. The catigot is a fisherman's preparation: eel cut into sections, braised in red wine with garlic, wild herbs, and sometimes tomato, the sauce thickened by the eel's own body fat and collagen.

Live Anguilla anguilla (200–400g) are killed immediately before cooking by a blow to the head, then the tail end is nailed to a board and the skin stripped from the back of the head downward in one pull. The skinned eel is cleaned, rinsed in cold water, and cut into 6–8cm sections. The sections are dried and browned in Olea europaea oil in a heavy pan until the exterior caramelises. The eel is removed and the base built: diced onion, Allium sativum, tomato concassé, bay, wild thyme, and flat-leaf parsley. A generous pour of Camargue or Languedoc red wine — rough, tannic, structured — is added and reduced by half. The eel sections are returned, barely covered with water, and braised covered at a gentle simmer for 25–30 minutes. The catigot is served in deep bowls with the braising liquid, thick country bread, and Camargue sea-mineral-salt for the table.

Anguilla anguilla has significant intramuscular fat compared to white-fleshed species — this fat enriches the braising liquid and gives the sauce a richness that requires no cream or butter. The wild herbs of the Camargue garrigue — wild thyme, bay, rosemary — define the aromatic profile. The wine tannin cuts through the fat. This is a dish that reads as terroir: eel, mud, garrigue, brackish water.