Carp Thing - You make our hearts sing

Carp Thing - You make our hearts sing and everything. We think we love you!

At the original price of £12.09 I would certainly not have bought this. But at £4.84 it was worth a chance. I’m more butcher than fishmonger and for me this was a really difficult fish to fillet. But it was worth the effort.

Ingredients:-

1 fresh Carp, filleted and gutted
A handful of cooked King Prawns and Mussels
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced and divided in two
Zest of a Lemon
Juice of ½ a Lemon
2 Tbsp of Capers
1 Red Onion, finely diced
4 Tbsp of Lactose free Butter / Margarine
200ml of Lactose free Milk
2 Tbsp of ground Cashew Nuts
1 Tsp of dried Thyme
Spaghetti, sufficient of two people (Gluten free for us)
200ml of White Wine
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Add a little Oil and half of the Margarine to a large frying pan and fry the Onions over a medium heat.
(2) When softened add half of the minced Garlic and fry for a further minute.
(3) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(4) Add the White Wine and allow to simmer.
(5) Combine the Ground Cashew Nuts and Milk and add to the pan, stirring until the sauce starts to thicken.
(6) In a separate pan add the remaining 2 Tbsp of Margarine on a low heat.
(7) Add the remaining minced Garlic, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice and Capers & allow to simmer of a minute of so.
(8) Add the Thyme and season with Salt & Pepper.
(9) Cook the Pasta in salted water until al dente.
(10) Add the Pasta to the sauce along with the Prawns, and Mussels & combine.
(11) Heat a little Oil in a separate pan and fry the Carp skin side down for 2 minutes. Until the skin is crispy.
(12) Turn over and fry until the fish is cooked through.
(13) Serve the Pasta on warmed plates with the Carp over the top, pouring the Caper Sauce over.
(14) Garnish with a slice of Lemon and Parsley.


We treated this in a similar way that we would ‘Sea Fish’ and although I’ve heard stories of Carp tasting of soil, pond gunge and generally being nasty, we  didn’t get any of that. We really enjoyed it and will certainly eat it again if we find it at this price.