Smoked eel has become a very popular dish, and is seen on the most sophisticated tables.

Serves 4

Ingredients Needed

• 1 lb smoked eel fillets, skinned
• 2 large heads of chicory, separated
• 4 radicchio leaves
• Flat leaf parsley leaves, to garnish

For the citrus dressing

• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 6 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and ground black pepper

1. Cut the fillets diagonally into 8 pieces. Make the dressing. Using the zestier, carefully remove the rind in strips from the lemon and the orange. Squeeze the juice from both fruit. Set the lemon juice aside and pour the orange juice into a small pan. Stir the rinds and sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Leave to cool.
2. Whisk the Dijon mustard, reserved lemon juice and the sunflower oil together in a bowl. Add the orange juice mixture, then stir in the chopped fresh parsley. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper and whisk again.
3. Arrange the Chicory leaves in a circle on individual plates, with the pointed ends radiating outwards like the spokes of a wheel. Take the radicchio leaves between the chicory leaves
4. Drizzle a little of the dressing over the leaves and place four pieces of the eel in a star shape in the middle. Garnish with the parsley leaves and serve. Offer the remaining dressing separately.

Red mullet and raspberry vinegar is a delicious combination in this starter salad!

Serves 4

Need:

• 8 red mullet fillets, scaled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar
• 6 oz mixed dark green and red salad leaves, such as lamb’s lettuce, radicchio, oak leaf lettuce and rocket
• Salt and ground black pepper

For the raspberry dressing

• 1 cup raspberries, pureed and sieved
• 2 tbsp raspberry vinegar
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ - ½ tsp caster sugar

1. Lay the red mullet fillets in a shallow dish. Whisk together the olive oil and raspberry vinegar, add a pinch of salt and drizzle the mixture over the fish. Cover and leave to marinate for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the dressing ingredients to season and taste.
3. Wash ad dry the salad leaves, put them in a bowl, pour over most of the dressing and toss lightly.
4. Heat a rigid grilling pan or frying pan until very hot, put in the red mullet fillets and fry for 2- 3 minutes on each side, until just cooked. Cut the fillets diagonally in half to make rough diamond shapes.
5. Arrange a tall heap of salad in the middle of each serving plate. Prop up four red mullet fillet halves on the salad on each plate with the reserved dressing spooned around. Serve.

Japanese rice vinegar has a pale straw colored sauce that is mild.

Serves 4

Need:

• 6 cups torn spinach
• 1 9 ¼ ounce can water packed tuna, chilled, drained, and broken into large pieces
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1 8- ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 large tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 stalk celery, chopped ( ½ cup)
• 1 green onion, sliced ( 2 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white whine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 to 3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
• Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce

In a large salad bowl combine spinach, tuna, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, tomato wedges, celery, and green onion. Toss to mix.

For the dressing, in a screw top jar combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar or white whine vinegar, water, sesame oil, sugar, dry mustard, and bottled hot pepper sauce. Cover and shake well to mix.

Pour the dressing over the spinach mixture. Toss to coat. This makes 4 servings

Nutrition Facts:
172 calories, 24 g protein, 14 g carbohydrates, 3g fat( 1 g saturated), 12 mg cholesterol, 1,095 mg sodium, 928 mg potassium.

If the strawberries are very long, try to slice them up, instead of halving them.

Serves 4

Need

• 8 -ounce carton vanilla yogurt
• 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
• 1 11 ounce can mandarin orange sections, drained, or 2 oranges peeled and sectioned
• 1 ½ cups cubed cantaloupe or honeydew melon
• 1 ½ cups halved strawberries
• 2 7-ounce cans solid white tuna, drained and coarsely flaked
• ¼ cup chopped pecans, toasted

1. In a large bowl, stir together the vanilla yogurt and the orange peel. Add the orange sections, cantaloupe or honeydew melon, and strawberries, toss gently to coat. Add the tuna. Then toss lightly again
2. To serve, line four salad plats with lettuce. Arrange tuna mixture on the lettuce- lined plates. Sprinkle with pecans. Makes 4 servings

Nutrition: 296calories; 27 g protein, 31 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat ( 2 g saturated), 38 mg cholesterol, 382 mg sodium, 774 mg potassium