Carpe en Meurette

Carp had always been a disappointment until I tasted it ‘en meurette’, for this powerful red wine sauce with bacon and onions perfectly suits its robust, somewhat coarse texture. Indeed, so highly prized is a fine carp in Burgundy that in the nineteenth century when the fishermen of Nevers presented their catch to the departmental governor they were given a free ticket to the city ball. This could also be made with bream.