Part 58 (1/2)

_To hash a Carp._

Take a carp, scale, and sc.r.a.pe off the slime with your knife, wipe it with a dry cloth, bone it, and mince it with a fresh water eel being flayed and boned; season it with beaten cloves, mace, salt, pepper, and some sweet herbs, as tyme, parsley, and some sweet marjoram minced very small, stew it in a broad mouthed pipkin, with some claret wine, gooseberries, or grapes, and some blanched chesnuts; being finely stewed, serve it on carved sippets about it, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, garnish the dish with fine grated manchet sea.r.s.ed, and some fryed oysters in b.u.t.ter, c.o.c.kles, or prawns.

Sometimes for variety, use pistaches, pine-apple-seeds, or some blanch't almonds stew'd amongst the hash, or asparagus, or artichock boil'd & cut as big as chesnuts, & garnish the dish with sc.r.a.ped horse-radish, and rub the bottom of the dish in which you serve the meat, with a clove or two of garlick. Sometimes mingle it with some stewed oysters, or put to it some oyster-liquor.

_To marinate a Carp to be eaten hot or cold._

Take a carp, scale it, and sc.r.a.pe off the slime, wipe it clean with a dry cloth, and split it down the back, flour it, and fry it in sweet sallet oyl, or good clarified b.u.t.ter; being fine and crisp fryed, lay it in a deep dish or earthen pan, then have some white or claret wine, or wine-vinegar, put it in a broad mouthed pipkin with all manner of sweet herbs bound up in a bundle, as rosemary, tyme, sweet marjoram, parsley, winter-savory, bay-leaves, sorrel, and sage, as much of one as the other, put it into the pipkin with the wine, with some large mace, slic't ginger, gross pepper, slic't nutmeg, whole cloves, and salt, with as much wine and vinegar as will cover the dish, then boil the spices and wine with some salt a little while, pour it on the fish hot, and presently cover it close to keep in the spirits of the liquor, herbs, and spices for an hours s.p.a.ce; then have slic't lemons, lemon-peels, orange and orange peels, lay them over the fish in the pan, and cover it up close; when you serve them hot lay on the spices and herbs all about it, with the slic't lemons, oranges, and their peels, and run it over with sweet sallet oyl, (or none) but some of the liquor it is soust in.

Or marinate the carp or carps without sweet herbs for hot or cold, only bay-leaves, in all points else as is abovesaid; thus you may marinate soles, or any other fish, whether sea or fresh-water fish.

Or barrel it, pack it close, and it will keep as long as sturgeon, and as good.

_To broil or toast a Carp divers ways, either in sweet b.u.t.ter or Sallet Oyl._

Take a carp alive, draw it, and wash out the blood in the body with claret wine into a dish, put to it some wine vinegar and oyl, then sc.r.a.pe off the slime, & wipe it dry both outside & inside, lay it in the dish with vinegar, wine, oyl, salt, and the streight sprigs of rosemary and parsley, let it steep there the s.p.a.ce of an hour or two, then broil it on a clean scowred gridiron, (or toast it before the fire) broil it on a soft fire, and turn it often; being finely broil'd, serve it on a clean scowred dish, with the oyl, wine, and vinegar, being stew'd on the coals, put it to the fish, the rosemary and parsley round the dish, and some about the fish, or with beaten b.u.t.ter and vinegar, or b.u.t.ter and verjuyce, or juyce of oranges beaten with the b.u.t.ter, or juyce of lemons, garnish the fish with slices of orange, lemon, and branches of rosemary; boil the milt or sp.a.w.n by it self and lay it in the dish with the Carp.

Or make sauce otherways with beaten b.u.t.ter, oyster liquor, the blood of the carp, grated nutmeg, juyce of orange, white-wine, or wine vinegar boil'd together, crumbs of bread, and the yolk of an egg boiled up pretty thick, and run it over the fish.

_To broil a Carp in Staffado._

Take a live carp, scale it, and sc.r.a.pe off the slime, wipe it clean with a dry cloth, and draw it, wash out the blood, and steep it in claret, white-wine, wine-vinegar, large mace, whole cloves, two or three cloves of garlick, some slic't ginger, gross pepper, and salt; steep it in this composition in a dish or tray the s.p.a.ce of two hours, then broil it on a clean scoured gridiron on a soft fire, & baste it with some sweet sallet oyl, sprigs of rosemary, time, parsley, sweet marjoram, and two or three bay-leaves, being finely broil'd; serve it with the sauce it was steeped in, boil'd up on the fire with a little oyster-liquor, the spices on it, and herbs round about it on the dish, run it over with sauce, either with sweet sallet oyl, or good beaten b.u.t.ter, and broil the milt or sp.a.w.n by it self.

_To roast a Carp._

Take a live carp, draw and wash it, and take away the gall, and milt, or sp.a.w.n; then make a pudding with some grated manchet, some almond-paste, cream, currans, grated nutmeg, raw yolks of eggs, sugar, caraway-seed candied, or any peel, some lemon and salt, make a stiff pudding and put it through the gills into the belly of the carp, neither scale it, nor fill it too full; then spit it, and roust it in the oven upon two or three sticks cross a bra.s.s dish, turn it and let the gravy drop into the dish; being finely roasted, make sauce with the gravy, b.u.t.ter, juyce of orange or lemon, some sugar, and cinamon, beat up the sauce thick with the b.u.t.ter, and dish the carp, put the sauce over it with slices of lemon.

_Otherways._

Scale it, and lard it with salt eel, pepper, and nutmeg, then make a pudding of some minced eel, roach, or dace, some sweet herbs, grated bread, cloves, mace, nutmeg, pepper, salt, yolks of eggs, pistaches, chesnuts, and the milt of the carp parboil'd and cut into dice-work, as also some fresh eel, and mingle it amongst the pudding or fa.r.s.e.

_Sauces for Roast Carp._

1. Gravy and oyster liquor, beat it up thick with sweet b.u.t.ter, claret wine, nutmeg, slices of orange, and some capers, and give it a warm or two.

2. Beaten b.u.t.ter with slices of orange, and lemon, or the juyce of them only.

3. b.u.t.ter, claret-wine, grated nutmeg, selt, slices of orange, a little wine-vinegar and the gravy.

4. A little white-wine, gravy of the carp, an anchove or two dissolved in it, some grated nutmeg, and a little grated manchet, beat them up thick with some sweet b.u.t.ter, and the yolk of an egg or two, dish the carp, and pour the sauce on it.

_To make a Carp Pye a most excellent way._