Stewed Carp

Ingredients

• 1 carp
• salt
• stock
• 2 onions
• 6 cloves
• 12 peppercorns
• 1 blade of mace
• 150 ml port wine
• 0.5 lemon lemon juice
• to taste cayenne
• 1 faggot savoury herbs

Method

Braising carp in aromatic stock is the foundation here. The long, gentle cook transforms the fish's firm white flesh into something tender whilst the cooking liquor becomes a carrier for spice and wine. Scale and gut the fish thoroughly — a dull knife dragged backwards against the scales is faster than scraping forwards. If the carp weighs over 1.5 kg, cut it into four or five thick steaks rather than leaving it whole; thinner pieces cook through evenly without the centre remaining chalky.

Salt the flesh lightly and lay it in a heavy-bottomed stewpan or braising pot. Pour in enough cold or warm stock — fish stock or a light chicken stock — to submerge the fish completely. This matters: exposed flesh dries out. Quarter the onions and add them whole with the cloves, peppercorns, mace blade, and the faggot of herbs (typically parsley, thyme, and bay tied in muslin or bound with twine). The aromatic-infusion will happen slowly, so don't rush to a boil. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer — just a tremor across the surface — and maintain this for 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes depending on thickness. You'll know it's done when a fork parts the flesh cleanly at the thickest point without resistance.

Lift the fish onto a warm serving dish using two slotted spatulas; it will be fragile. Strain the cooking liquor through fine muslin into a clean pan, pressing the solids gently to extract their essence without clouding the sauce. Discard the solids. Return the strained liquor to heat, add the port wine, lemon juice, and a pinch of cayenne — taste as you go because cayenne burns quickly and becomes acrid if overseasoned. Bring it just to a rolling boil to marry the wine with the stock, then pour the sauce over the fish. The acidity of the lemon and the tannins in the port cut the richness of the fish, whilst the heat carries the spice forward without letting it dominate. Serve at once.