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in a brine. As well, you can soak it for 5 minutes in water acidulated with vinegar – say 6 tablespoons to 1 litre (1¾ pt) of water. Take advice from the fishmonger.

However, before you get to this stage, you should scrape off the scales – unless it is Christmas Eve and you want to keep them on as good luck charms for the coming year. Then cut out the gills, wash and dry the fish. Now put it on a flat surface, remove the fins and cut the tail shorter and slit the belly so that you can remove the innards. Do this carefully, as inside there is a gall sack that should be removed intact or else the fish will remain bitter; you should also remove the thickest part of the intestine. The rest of the innards should be left inside, and neither they nor the cavity should be washed with water or the special characteristic flavour of the carp will be spoiled.

Now you can salt the fish, and give it a vinegar bath, before tackling one of the following recipes.

CARPE AU BLEU WITH HORSERADISH SAUCE

Serves 6

1¾–2 kg (3½–4 lb) carp

150 ml (5 fl oz) wine or tarragon vinegar

court bouillon no. 2*

300 ml (10 fl oz) double cream

60 g (2 oz) ground almonds

1 teaspoon sugar

grated horseradish to taste or prepared horseradish

salt

After cleaning it, tie the carp in a circle, nose to tail. (Do not wash or scale.) Put it into a pan. Bring the vinegar to the boil and pour it over the fish. Add the court bouillon, bring to the boil, and simmer until the carp is cooked. Drain and serve with the following sauce.

Bring cream, almonds and sugar to the boil. Stir in grated or prepared horseradish to taste and season with salt. A little lemon juice can also be added.

CARP STUFFED WITH CHESTNUTS

This is a more conventional recipe, from The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, though again there is the sweet note, in this case of chestnuts.

Serves 4

1½ kg (3 lb) carp

450 ml (15 fl oz) dry white wine

salt

cracker crumbs

2 generous tablespoons melted butter

STUFFING

1 medium onion, chopped

2 shallots, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 generous tablespoons butter

5-cm (2-inch) thick slice of bread

dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon each pepper, mace, powdered bay leaf, thyme

12 chestnuts, boiled, peeled and roughly chopped

1 egg

First make the stuffing. Cook the onion, shallots and garlic until soft and golden in the butter. Cut the crusts off the bread, dice it and soak in a little dry white wine. Squeeze out the surplus. Mix the rest of the stuffing ingredients together and put into the cleaned carp. Sew or skewer together and leave for 2 hours.

Bake for 20 minutes in a fairly hot oven, preheated to gas 5, 190°C (375°F), with the white wine and salt. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs, pour over the melted butter and put back into the oven for another 20 minutes. Serve with noodles.

CATIGOT

Catigot or catigau is a freshwater fish stew from southern France. Two or more varieties are cooked in white wine, the sauce thickened with egg yolks. Bacon fat or lard is used instead of olive oil or butter. This recipe is based on one from La Cuisine Rustique – Languedoc by André Bonnaure.

Serves 4–6

500g (1 lb) eel

750 g (1½ lb) carp

1 large onion, sliced

1 medium carrot, sliced

2–3 cloves garlic, crushed

lard or bacon fat

175 ml (6 fl oz) dry white wine

salt, pepper

3 egg yolks

½ tablespoon wine vinegar

croûtons of bread fried in lard or cooking oil and rubbed with garlic

Skin and clean the eel. Scale and clean the carp. Cut them into chunks about 4 cm (1½ inches) wide. Cook the onion, carrot and garlic, until lightly coloured, in just enough lard to cover the base of a saucepan. Put the pieces of fish into the pan. Pour in the wine and add water to cover. Season, and cook over a good heat for 10 minutes or until the fish is tender.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the vinegar. When the fish is cooked, strain a little of its liquid into