As anyone who’s spent a Christmas in Prague before may know, fish plays a big role in the mysticism of the season. Carp has an especially sacrificial part in Czech Christmas dinner, getting a deep-fried place of honor right next to the potato salad and fish soup. It’s this time of year when the streetside vats start appearing, and the sidewalks run with blood as the large fish are either beheaded on the spot or the carp are taken home to take up residence in the bathtub until that fateful day.
Most Czechs I’ve spoken to over the years have mixed feelings about this Dec. 24 tradition: Few people actually admit to “liking” the fish itself, but many like the tradition of it, and so, year after year, they pick through the boney flesh and pile the potato salad extra high. Especially now, though, with an influx of more accessible and more affordable imports of fish reaching the country, carp appears to be losing its scaly grip on the Christmas dinnertime monopoly.
A seemingly nonfried variation doesn't look that much more appetizing.
These days, you can get any number of types of fresh fish (or fish that’s been flash-frozen) from several reliable suppliers around town, and a recent addition has been a stand at the Dejvice farmers’ market, on Vitězné náměstí, which boasts fresh tuna, fresh salmon, cod, mackerel, mussels and a host of other sea critters. They also usually have a pot or two going of something to eat right then and there, like mussels in white wine sauce (55 Kč for a serving) or pan-fried salmon steaks served with a heel of rustic bread. It’s proved a very popular stand at the market, and, luckily for anyone who’s a fan of a) that particular farmers’ market and b) Christmas markets, the Vitězné náměstí market now runs Thursday through Sunday as a Christmas farmers’ market, offering the best of local and organic produce and items as well as Christmas trees, mulled wine, pastries (including some of the most incredible strudel, if you can get there in time) and a covered tent for seating to hide against those biting winds.
Another market that has for quite a while been a go-to place for fish-seeking marketgoers has been the Holešovická tržnice. Just in time for educating the pre-Christmas masses about the benefits and the variety of seafood, the Holešovice market is hosting a Fish Festival tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (specifically, at Pražská tržnice, hall No. 36).
It’s being billed as “the largest gastronomic festival specializing in fresh fish” and a “festival for all gourmands that want to enjoy great fish, and those looking for inspiration for Christmas dinner” — a subtle nod to both those people who have taken the leap away from carp and taken to deep-frying salmon or another fish in its place, as well as those curious about making the switch.
The daylong event promises to feature tastings of various preparations of different fish, recipes, cooking demonstrations, fish for sale and menu of ready-to-eat and cooked-on-the-spot items including fish and seafood salads, pickled marinated and smoked fish; Bouillabaise and other fish soups with mussels and prawns; fried sardines, anchovies, mullet, herring hake and squid; grilled seafood such as sea bass, sea bream, mackerel, tuna and salmon; and fish and seafood pastas and risottos. Fish dishes start at 50 Kč a serving, and, as a bonus, Balkan band Goran Bregovic will provide some festive background.
So if there’s a certain someone in your life bent on cooking carp this Christmas much to your chagrin, perhaps a trip to the Holešovice market will broaden their fish horizons just in time for the holidays.
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