A thoroughly “Greek” ingredient, handled lightly, with earthy notes and bright acidity – perfect for when there’s a little smoked eel in the fridge
Eel is one of those ingredients that instantly evokes its place of origin. You’ll traditionally find it in the lagoon ecosystems of western Greece – Messolonghi, Amvrakikos, Koronisia, Epirus – where for decades it has been processed, smoked and packaged with very specific know-how. Among the best-known producers is Geitonas, based in Psathotopi in the Arta region, which supplies the Greek and European markets with fresh and smoked eel of consistent quality and proper smoking, without additives or preservatives.
Today, good, ready-to-eat smoked eel is easy to find in well-stocked delis, wine shops, and e-shops that specialise in fine Greek products, often in small 80–100 g vacuum packs, with fillets already cleaned and smoked over beech or olive wood.
Culinarily, eel has two main strengths: its fattiness (rich and rounded, but not at all heavy) and its subtle smokiness, which pairs beautifully with acidic or sweet-and-sour elements. That’s why it works so well with beetroot, citrus, lemon–olive oil dressings, or even a yoghurt–mustard sauce.
It’s also a wonderfully practical ingredient: if you have a pack of smoked eel in the fridge, in ten minutes you can throw together a meze with boiled vegetables, boost a potato salad, or elevate a simple green salad with a few slices of eel and a light dressing – it’s one of those things that deliver a lot of flavour for very little effort.
With that in mind, we arrive at the recipe “Eel with Beetroot and Citrus Sauce”: we take the smoked eel, give it a quick kiss on a hot grill for aroma and warmth, serve it over an earthy beetroot purée, and brighten it with a lively orange–lemon–basil dressing. The result is balanced, elegant, and distinctly Mediterranean, with just a few clean ingredients that let the eel itself shine.
Ingredients for 4
- 400 g smoked eel
- 5 beetroots
- juice of 1 orange
- 2 oranges
- juice of 1 lemon
- 10 ml olive oil
- 5 basil leaves
- 5 sorrel leaves
- salt, pepper
Briefly grill the eel over high heat. Wrap the whole beetroots in foil with a little salt and bake them in the oven for 1½ hours at 200°C.
For the sauce, put the peeled, seedless oranges in a blender together with the lemon juice, olive oil and basil leaves. Blend well and season with salt and pepper.
Peel the beetroots and, together with the orange juice, blend them to a smooth purée. To serve, spoon the beetroot purée onto the plate, place the eel alongside and add the citrus sauce in the middle, garnishing with the sorrel leaves.
That’s all it takes: with good smoked eel, a few beetroots, and a bright citrus dressing, you have a restaurant-level dish at home. It’s the kind of recipe that honours the ingredient without weighing it down, lets the flavour take the lead, and reminds you how generous Greek produce can be when you treat it with a little restraint and imagination.
