Portugal’s Prehistoric Snacking Fave
In Portugal, lampreys, described as "neither fish, worm, nor eel," are a delicacy whose season is upon us: "Many of the parasites feed by sucking the blood of fish, attaching to their prey with a suction disk and teeth. The Portuguese prefer to eat them cooked in their own blood. At this time of year, for some communities on Portugal's northern rivers, lampreys are big business. They also make their way onto menus at top-notch Lisbon restaurants." (For Serious Eats overlord Ed Levine, now vacationing in Portugal.)
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1 Comment:
Lampreys once were (perhaps still are) the bane of the Great Lakes fishes. I grew up fishing the shores of Lake Huron and remember the beautiful golden perch we ate as youngsters being gradually transformed into grotesque monsters, each with the mark of the bloodsucking lamprey , and sometimes two or three marks. By the time I was a teenager, there were no more clean fish in Lake Huron. Maybe we should have imported some Portuguese to clean up this problem!
fewteeth at 1:46PM on 03/08/08