Stuffed Carp for Nikulden
The centrepiece of the St Nicholas Day table on 6 December — a whole carp, the fish of the patron saint of fishermen, stuffed with rice, onion and walnuts and baked until the skin crisps and the filling soaks up the juices.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 kg whole carp, scaled and gutted
- 2 lemons (one juiced, one cut into wedges)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 100 ml sunflower oil
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 150 g short-grain rice, rinsed
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 200 ml hot water
- 100 g walnuts, chopped
- 1 tsp dried savory
- 1 tsp black pepper, ground
- 0.5 bunch parsley, chopped
Nutrition (estimated)
high confidenceRecipe total: 2953 kcal · P 63.4g · C 317.3g · F 173.6g
Estimated from 12 of 12 ingredients
Approximate estimate, calculated from the ingredients.
Steps
Steps
- 1Rinse the carp inside and out, pat it dry and cut 4–5 shallow diagonal slashes, 1 cm deep, on each side. Rub it inside and out with 2 tsp salt and the juice of one lemon and leave for 30 minutes.
- 2Meanwhile heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the onions for 8 minutes until soft and golden.
- 3Add the drained rice and stir for 3 minutes until translucent at the edges, then take off the heat and stir in the paprika.
- 4Pour in 150 ml of the hot water, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 8 minutes until the water is absorbed — the rice must stay half-cooked, because it swells further inside the fish and fully cooked rice turns to paste.
- 5Stir the walnuts, savory, pepper, parsley and remaining salt into the rice and let the stuffing cool slightly.
- 6Heat the oven to 200°C. Fill the cavity of the carp with the stuffing without packing it tightly, then close the opening with toothpicks or sew it up with kitchen twine.
- 7Oil a baking tray, lay the fish on it, brush it all over with the remaining oil and pour the remaining 50 ml water into the tray. Spread any leftover stuffing around the fish.
- 8Bake for 15 minutes at 200°C, then lower to 180°C and bake for 40–45 minutes more, basting twice with the tray juices, until the skin is golden and crisp and the flesh at the thickest point lifts cleanly from the backbone.
- 9Rest for 10 minutes, remove the toothpicks and cut across into thick portions with the stuffing, serving with the lemon wedges.
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Questions and answers
How long does Stuffed Carp for Nikulden take to make?
About 120 minutes: 45 min prep and 75 min cooking.
What ingredients do you need for Stuffed Carp for Nikulden?
12 ingredients: whole carp, lemons (one juiced, salt, sunflower oil, onions, short-grain rice, sweet paprika, hot water, walnuts, dried savory, black pepper, parsley.
How many servings does this Stuffed Carp for Nikulden recipe make?
6 servings. The servings buttons above the ingredients rescale every amount.
How many calories are in a serving of Stuffed Carp for Nikulden?
About 492 kcal, with 10.6 g protein, 52.9 g carbohydrate and 28.9 g fat. This is an estimate from the ingredients, not a lab analysis.
Which diets does this Stuffed Carp for Nikulden recipe suit?
It is gluten-free.
What cuisine is Stuffed Carp for Nikulden?
Stuffed Carp for Nikulden comes from Bulgarian cuisine.
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