Carp with Garlic and Wine

Christmas Eve (Wigilia) is a special day that we want to spend with our family. It's best when the day is calm, with no stress and no running around. It doesn't always work out that way, but I'm sure every one of us tries. Unfortunately, in practice many of us spend Christmas Eve cleaning, cooking, baking and frying, and have very little time for ourselves. We sit down at the table exhausted, with no energy left for anything.

One way to make that day easier is to prepare some of the dishes a few hours, days, or even weeks ahead. Gingerbread cookies can be baked waaay in advance, herring salad "under a duvet" and other herring dishes the day before, pierogi dough or uszka (tiny dumplings traditionally served in barszcz) can be kneaded and frozen a week ahead, and the filling a few days ahead, and so on.

There are also Christmas Eve dishes that have to be prepared shortly before serving, but they don't take much work. One of them is Christmas Eve barszcz (Polish red beet soup), and another is this carp with garlic.

When I made it for the first time, I took it with a grain of salt. Carp, parsley and garlic... I love garlic, but the thought of such a meager stuffing for a carp filled me with doubts. On top of that I thought, what on earth was Makłowicz thinking? He probably just gave some recipe so he'd have "something" to serve. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only does this carp taste great, it's also very easy to make, especially if you buy a carp that's already cleaned.

This recipe was (I think) in the Christmas VCD supplement to the newspaper "Rzeczpospolita" with R. Makłowicz's recipes in 2004.

carp with garlic

carp with garlic

You'll also need toothpicks and white thread or kitchen twine.

Pat the carp dry (already gutted and cleaned). Then rub it with salt and freshly ground pepper, and rub it with oil. Chop the parsley and the garlic (peeled), not too finely, and put it inside the belly of the fish. Close the opening of the carp with toothpicks, that is, stick toothpicks into both edges of the opening so that they meet. Then, holding the thread in both hands, lace it in a zigzag around the toothpicks (the way you would tie shoes) to close the opening well.

Place the carp in an open ovenproof dish, pour the wine into it, and bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes at 180-190°C (355-375°F).