Smoked eel with pineapple and basil jelly

Method

1. For the basil jelly: heat the sugar and water together in a saucepan until you have a light syrup. Remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly and add the basil. Using a hand blender, blend the basil in the syrup. Leave to infuse in the warm stock syrup for 2 - 3 hours.

2. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes, remove and squeeze out excess liquid. Warm through the syrup, remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine leaves to dissolve. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours until set.

3. For the eel: using a sharp knife, remove the skin from the eel, scrape off the fat and cut into very thin strips. Arrange on a non-stick baking tray and dry out in a warm oven.

4. Put a slice of the eel in a pan with the wine and port. Reduce down by three quarters, pass through a sieve to remove the eel and continue to reduce down until you have a syrup.

5. Meanwhile slice the pineapple into batons about 1.5 cm x 3.5 cm. Cut the eel into similar sized batons.

6. Heat the butter in a pan and fry the pineapple until slightly caramelised. Add the eel to the pan to warm through.

7. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or deep saucepan and fry the skin until crisp.

8. Arrange the eel and pineapple on 2 plates, drizzle with the port and wine sauce and a little soured cream. Garnish with the crispy eel skins and nasturtium leaves.