John Dory

Description

John Dory is full of flavour and a wonderfully versatile fish to cook. Boneless and meaty, it can be grilled, pan-fried, baked, poached or roasted. Add some field mushrooms, or prawns, chopped spring onions or ginger, throw in some cider or soy sauce. Goes well with broccoli or spinach, boiled potatoes or rice.

Baked: heat the oven to 180C and drizzle a little olive oil around an oven-proof dish and put in 2/4 John Dory fillets skin side down. Bake for about 10 minutes ( longer for thicker fillets), then transfer onto plates. Add some extra olive oil, the juice of one lemon and capers to the pan and stir well. Pour the juice over the fish and season with pepper. Serve with a green bean salad and bread to mop up the juices.

Pan-fried: Roll 8 unskinned John Dory fillets in a little plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat 1oz of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan until it begins to sizzle and go brown. Add the fillets and fry to 2-3 minutes on either side, or until cooked. Put the fish onto a plate and keep warm.

In a separate pan, melt 1 oz of butter until foaming. Add 100g of thickly sliced mushrooms (chanterelles, oyster or field mushrooms), 1 clove of crushed garlic and a handful of lemon thyme leaves. Cook on a low heat until just cooked through. Add a splash of wine and bring to the boil until completely reduced.
Squeeze the juice of a lemon into the pan and stir in 200g of double cream. Bring to the boil again gently, stirring all the time and season to taste. Pour over the fish and serve with sprouts or broccoli with new potatoes.