Matelote of Eel with Button Onions, Bacon and Mushrooms

Matelote, in the words of Larousse Gastronomic, is the ‘name given in French cooking to a fish stew made with white or red wine’. Confused? Let me explain. A matelote is almost always made from freshwater fish and more importantly from eel. It can, depending upon the region you are in, be made with either red or white wine. If for instance you were in the Loire then it would almost certainly be made with white wine, in other districts more probably with the local red. It is