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Salt

Sesame seeds

Chopped buttered almonds

Clean, scale, and split the fish and remove the backbone.

Sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until soft and lightly colored. Add the chili powder and the broth or wine, salt to taste, and blend well.

Place the fish on a well-oiled baking dish or pan, spread the chili-onion mixture over the flesh of the fish, and brush with oil. Bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Sprinkle with sesame seeds and the chopped almonds. Run under the broiler for 3 or 4 minutes to brown the seeds and nuts. Serve with cornmeal mush crisply fried with salt pork or bacon.

CARPE DE CAHORS

This is a delicious recipe from my friend Madame Pannetrat.

3-pound carp

3-egg omelet fines herbes (parsley, chives, tarragon, or your own choice)

Chopped shallots or scallions

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup white wine

1 cup cream

3 egg yolks

Clean and split the carp.

Prepare the omelet and roll it into the fish as stuffing. Sew up the carp and place it on a bed of chopped shallots or onions in a well-oiled baking dish. Salt and pepper the fish and add the wine. Bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Remove the fish to a hot platter and take out the string or thread that you used to secure it. Strain the pan juices and force the onion through a fine sieve or a food processor. Reduce the juices slightly and add the cream mixed with the egg yolks; stir until thick but do not let it boil. Taste for seasoning and pour the sauce around the fish.

PÂTÉ CHAUD DE CARPE

This is an elaborate dish for a buffet party or a magnificent first course for a special dinner party at which you wish to display your prowess as a cook.

Puff paste

4-pound carp

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

Parsley

2 cups white wine

1/2 cup cream

4 egg yolks

1 teaspoon rosemary

1/3 cup mixed chopped herbs (chives, parsley, and the like)

1 cup dry bread crumbs

4 tablespoons butter

Prepare puff paste from any good recipe.

Clean the carp and place it on a well-oiled baking dish. Salt and pepper to taste and add the onion, carrot, a few sprigs of parsley, and the wine. Bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8), basting frequently. When the fish is cool enough to handle, remove the bones and the skin and add them to the liquid in the pan. Reduce the liquid to 1 cup. Strain and return to the stove. Add the cream mixed with the egg yolks and cook over low heat, being sure it does not boil, until the sauce is thickened.

Mix the rosemary, herbs, bread crumbs, and blend in the butter.

Roll out the puff paste and cover the bottom of a round pan or pie plate with a layer of the paste. Add the crumbs and herb mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the fish, cut into good-sized pieces, and top these with the sauce. Cover all with a crust of puff paste. Cut 2 vents in the top and bake at 450° for 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking until the paste is nicely browned and cooked through.

Cut into wedges or squares and serve very hot.

CARPE À LA CHAMBORD

This is a simplification of one of the most elaborate dishes in all cookery. Over the years many variations of it have been created, but this I feel is the best.

Fish forcemeat (page 41)

4-to-6-pound carp

Salt pork

2 medium onions, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped

3 stalks of celery, finely chopped

4 tablespoons butter

Red wine and water or fish broth

Beurre manié (page 475)

Prepare the forcemeat.

Clean and scale the carp and stuff it with the forcemeat. Sew it up securely and cover it with strips of salt pork, tying them well around the fish.

Cook the onions, carrots, and celery in the butter for 8 minutes. Place in the bottom of a well-buttered fish cooker or Dutch oven and put the fish on top. Now pour in a mixture of red wine and fish broth or water — 2/3 wine to 1/3 water or broth. Fill up to two-thirds the thickness of the fish. Cover and bake at 425° according to