Stuffed carp

Method

1. Rinse the carp inside and out and pat it dry. Salt it well in the cavity and over the skin and leave it for twenty minutes while you make the stuffing.
2. Cook the chopped onion in half the oil over a low heat until soft and translucent but not coloured, about eight minutes. Add the grated carrot and the garlic and cook for three minutes more.
3. Take the pan off the heat, stir in two-thirds of the parsley, the juice of half a lemon, the paprika and a good grinding of pepper, and let it cool enough to handle.
4. Pack the stuffing into the fish. Do not force in more than it takes comfortably; a tightly packed carp splits along the belly as it bakes.
5. Cut three or four shallow slashes across the thickest part of the back and slide a half-slice of lemon into each. Lay the sliced onions over the base of a roasting dish and set the fish on them.
6. Pour the wine, the water and the rest of the oil around the fish rather than over it, cover the dish with foil and bake at 200°C for forty-five minutes.
7. Take the foil off and give it another 25 to 30 minutes, basting twice, until the skin is golden and the flesh at the backbone comes away cleanly.
8. Scatter the remaining parsley, squeeze the second lemon over and serve with the pan juices and boiled potatoes.