Carp In Aspic, A Polish Recipe

A traditional polish recipe that allows you to enjoy cold carp for over a week without spoiling.

Ingredients:

A 800 g carp

SOUP

The head of the fish

1½-liter water

180 g vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celery turnip, leek)

2 bay leaves

3 pepper grains

Salt

ASPIC

7½ dl fish soup (750 ml)

2 egg whites

½ tablespoon vinegar

10 g white gelatin

GARNISH

Hard-boiled egg

2 small sweet sour gherkins (in slices)

Cooked carrot (in slices)

Some green peas

Preparation:

Let the carp be cleaned by the fish shop. Ask them to separate head of the fish and to divide it to 4 cm slices.

You can also clean the fish yourself. Scrape off the scales of the fish from tail to head. Cut the head, tail and fins off. Keep the head for the soup. Cut the fish open on the abdomen side and obtain the intestines without damaging the gal bladder. Divide the fish into slices and wash these well.

Put the head in 1½ l of water with the cleaned vegetables, spices and salt to taste. Cook this approx. 30 minutes on a low fire. Sieve fish bouillon and add the slices of fish to it. Cook them on a low fire 10 to 15 minutes. Leave the pieces in the bouillon to cool down. Obtain them carefully with a foam spoon from the pot and remove large bones. Put the pieces of fish in a fish dish and garnish them with the vegetables and eggs.

Prepare the aspic. Pour 6 of the 7½ dl of cold bouillon into a pot. Add the egg whites and the vinegar. While whisking, bring it to boil. Take the pot off the fire and remove the foam. Place the lid on the pot and let it stand for 30 minutes. Let the gelatin soak in cold water so it dissolves/softens. Heat up the rest of the fish bouillon, 1½ dl, and add the squeezed gelatin. Let it dissolve while stirring. Put a folded towel in a sieve and sieve the bouillon/egg mix. Mix this with dissolved gelatin. Salt the aspic, if necessary. Pour a thin layer of aspic over the fish and garnish and let it cool down. Afterwards cover it in lukewarm aspic. Let everything cool down and stiffen in the fridge.