Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

Carp. — River Carp are infinitely superior to the muddy, sleepy Carp of Ponds. They are best baked like a Pike, and will take an hour. Or the Carp may be filleted and fried, or plainly grilled. The roe should be taken out and used separately as a savoury. French people, partly on account of the distance of many parts of France from the sea, and partly on account of the preservation in France of the fish-ponds and moats which disappeared in England with the abbeys and monasteries, make much more use of Pond Fish than we do. They are apt to hide the tastelessness of Pond Fish by all sorts of stuffings and garnishes, and even by larding, but French cooks have two excellent rules which we should do well to follow. One of these is never to boil Pond Fish (or indeed any Fish) in plain water, but in a vegetable broth called a Court Bouillon. For this, take four ounces of carrots and the same of onions, one ounce of parsley, a teaspoonful of thyme and the same of basil, one ounce of butter, and the same quantity of salt. Stir over the fire for ten minutes, and then add two quarts of water, and either half a pint of French vinegar or a quarter of a pint of white wine, such as sauterne or hock, and a quarter of a pint of water. Simmer all for one hour, strain and set aside till wanted. Then bring the Court Bouillon to boiling point and pour it round the fish to be cooked. If claret is used instead of white wine the fish is said to be cooked “ au bleu.” In the case of Pond Fish such importance is attached to the Court Bouillon that the Fish is boiled in it the day before it is wanted, and left to get cold in the bouillon. In any case, the Fish is boiled early in the morning and left in the bouillon till just before dinner, when it is gently heated up. The Fish is drained, and served with the thickened bouillon as sauce, unless a special sauce is preferred. The other valuable rule with French cooks is to marinade, or soak, fillets of Fish which they wish to fry. For every pound of Fish they allow four tablespoonfuls of oil, the juice of one lemon (or a tablespoonful of anchovy vinegar), a few sprigs of parsley coarsely chopped up, and a seasoning of salt and pepper. The fillets are left to soak in this mixture for an hour, then wiped dry and fried. Pond Fish are so full of bones that filleting is recommended for most of them. As Pond Fish is cooked in England many people would say that Canon Kingsley’s * recipe for cooking a Chub might be applied to every variety. “ You may make a most accurate “ imitation of him by taking one of Palmer’s patent candles, “ wick and all, stuffing it with needles and split bristles, and “ then stewing the same in ditch-water.” But if Pond Fish is cooked French fashion the result will be very different. Izaak Walton gives many recipes for cooking Pond Fish, as well as directions for catching them. Some of his hints may well be followed now. Perhaps the most important is that the Fish should be cleaned at the water-side as soon as it is dead (it is to be feared, however, that the Compleat Angler did not always wait for the death of his prey), and sent at once to the * “ Prose Idylls. Chalk Stream Studies,” p. 86.