Food itineraries : Eel
Eel is probably the most representative product of the Po River Delta park. Eels have always chosen this humid, salty environment as their ideal refuge and have provided the town of Comacchio with one of its most important sources of sustenance and economic exploitation.
Trips are organised to the canals where, even today, we can see the famous “lavorieri”, eel catching contraptions that were once made of reeds but that today have been modernised and perfected with different materials. Once inside the eels are removed to be selected and kept alive in large containers or large sunken baskets (le bolaghe). The eels are later cut, roasted and soaked in vinegar brine and salt ready to be packed and sold.
Also worth a visit are the workshops where the eels are prepared and marinated by hand and sold.
To finish off a day’s excursion in style the obvious option is to go to one of the many restaurants in the area where you can sample some of the 48 different eel dishes.
However nothing compares to the intense aroma of eel being cooked on a grill: it’s delicate taste accompanied by the sharp DOC wines of the Bosco Eliceo, itself a product of the area’s sandy territories, make the eel a gastronomic rite that is difficult to resist.
