Carp or catfish is necessary for this recipe. No saltwater fish can replace that uniquely muddy, murky flavor of a lake beast.
Chopping up some creamy white smoked fatback
Beautiful, bright red smoked paprika powder.
Adding the fish back into the creamier sauce..
Rendering out the pork fat to cook the fish in, saving the crispy meaty bits to mix into the pasta.
Quickly pan frying the fish in the rendered pork fat.
Adding the fish back in to the paprika base.
Finely diced peppers and tomatoes go on top. Then leave to steam with the lid on for 20 minutes.
Adding my favorite ingredient, Hungarian sour cream (tejföl), to the paprika base and veggies to make things a bit more creamy.
Salting and flour dusting two large filets.
Adding paprika to the minced and sauteed onions to make the paprikás base. Important to turn the heat off when doing so, as paprika burns quite easily.
Super happy about how my first ever paprikás base turned out. Grandma would be proud.
That Best Bite 