Fried carp with potato salad

Fried carp with potato salad is a typical Christmas dinner in most Czech families. The recipe is already known from the times of Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová whose cookbook was first published in 1826. It is difficult to write a universal recipe for Czech potato salad, because it is unique in every family and often inherited. Besides fried carp is also part of the Christmas dinner of fish soup.

4 serves, preparation time 1.5 hour + 1.5 hour for maturing the salad

Ingredients:

Carp:

• 800 g carp fillet
• 40 g plain flour
• 1 egg
• a little milk
• 100 g breadcrumbs
• oil for frying
• lemon juice

Potato salad:

• 50 g butter
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 400 g boiled potatoes in their skins
• 1 cooked carrot
• 1 cooked parsley
• 1/4 of cooked celery
• 1 large onion
• 6 pickles + pickle of them
• vegetable broth
• pinch of sugar
• ground pepper
• salt

Preparation process:

Carp: Season the carp with salt and wrap it in flour, whipped eggs and breadcrumbs. Fry the fish fillets in the abundant layer of oil until golden brown, then put aside on a paper towel and sprinkle it with lemon juice.

Potato salad: Wiping the butter with mustard, boiled egg yolks and a little salt until foamy. Add the peeled and small diced potatoes, root vegetables, onions, pickles, sliced egg white and season with pickle and a little broth of vegetables, a pinch of sugar, pepper and salt. Gently stir, let it rest for at least 30 minutes and then re-season. Before serving, let the salad stand for about 1 hour at room temperature (do not serve it directly from the refrigerator).