Barbel is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of boiled barbel served in a port wine, vinegar, onion, herb, lemon and anchovy sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Barbel.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
229. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of port wine, a saltspoonful of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 2 sliced onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, nutmeg and mace to taste, the juice of a lemon, 2 anchovies; 1 or 2 barbels, according to size. Mode—Boil the barbels in salt and water till done; pour off some of the water, and, to the remainder, put the ingredients mentioned above. Simmer gently for 1/2 hour, or rather more, and strain. Put in the fish; heat it gradually; but do not let it boil, or it will be broken.
Time.—Altogether 1 hour. Sufficient for 4 persons.
Seasonable from September to November.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
300ml port wine
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp vinegar
2 onions, sliced
1 bunch of sweet herbs
freshly-grated nutmeg and ground mace, to taste
juice of 1 lemon
2 anchovies, cleaned
1 or 2 barbels (depending on size), cleaned and scaled
Method:
Bring a pan of lightly-salted water to a boil, add the barbel and cook for about 20 minutes, or until just done. Pour off all but 500ml of the water then take out and reserve the fish before adding the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid and return to the pan then add the barbel. Heat gradually until the fish are warmed through, but do not boil, or the fish will break apart. When hot, remove the fish carefully from the liquid and serve.
