Instructions

1. Clean all the small fish - make sure they are scaled and gutted properly.
2. Now turn your attention to the carp. Cut off the head and the fins & tail and take out the gallbladder, any eggs/sperm and liver. Set all these aside for making the stock. Make sure no gills, eyes or the big "bitter" teeth stay in the head! Cut the carp's body into 2-3 cm thick slices, season with salt and let them rest in the refrigerator.
3. Coarsely chop the peppers and tomatoes. Finely chop the onion.
4. Heat a little oil in a large, heavy based saucepan and fry the onion until soft. Add the tomatoes and pepper, simmer for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the cleaned small fish and carp bits you set aside (but not the main salted slices) and add water to cover the fish well.
6. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a little ground paprika. You can add a fish stock cube too.
7. Bring to the boil - take off the froth with a finely spotted spoon then, at low temperature, cook for 1-2 hours. It is ready when the flesh falls off the main bone and the steam from the stock is dense.
8. Push the stock through a sieve - trying to make sure no little bones get through accidentally - and it's worth blending it with a hand-held blender or in a liquidizer.
9. Pour the soup back into a pot or cauldron, bring to the boil, then add the remaining paprika and carefully place the carp slices back into the soup. Cook for 10-15 minutes, but don't stir it!
10. Serve with bread and hot peppers.