John Dory (in French, “Saint Pierre”) is expensive, but luckily at my local fish monger, the quality really does match the price. And, the payoff for investing in good ingredients is that you don’t need to work too much to have an excellent meal – keep it simple and let the ingredients speak for themselves.
This recipe adapted from Alec Lobrano’s excellent cookbook Hungry for France, Adventures for the Cook & Food Lover, does just that. Created by Chef Jacques Maximim, owner of Bistrot de la Marine in Cagnes-sur-Mer, in the 70’s, it has become a “classic” in modern French kitchens. There are other recipes for pan roasted fish that keep things simple, but it’s the cooking juice in this dish – equal proportions of lemon juice, water, olive oil and butter – that notch up the flavour – (from that’s really good, to wow! that’s amazing) – without making things fussy.
I learned in France to cook fish on the bone, it has more flavour and stays juicer. If you can’t find John Dory any firm fleshed white fish – Bream, Talapia, Porgy, Black bass, or Sea bass – will work in this recipe. If you only have fillets, adjust the cooking time so as not to overcook your fish. Alec told me that he uses fennel seeds scattered in the pan when he can’t get dried fennel stalks. I couldn’t find either one, so I used sliced fennel.
Roasted John Dory with Tomatoes, Olives and Herbs
Ingredients
- Serves 2 to 3
- 10 small fingerling potatoes (or small round new potatoes)
- 6 thyme sprigs
- 2 dried fennel stalks – (fennel seeds or sliced fennel)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 2-lb (1 kg) whole fish, cleaned
- 12 black olives, preferably Niçoise
- 12 or so cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 Tbsp (60 g) unsalted butter, sliced
- 2 Tbsp chopped basil
- ½ cup (125 ml) fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (125 ml) water
- Freshly ground pepper
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425° F (230°C). Put the potatoes in a medium size saucepan, cover with cold water, add a dash of salt and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
- Spread thyme, fennel stalks (or seeds or sliced fennel) and bay leaves in a large gratin dish or roasting pan. Set the fish on top and scatter the cooked potatoes, olives and tomatoes around it. Place the butter on top of the fish, then pour the lemon juice, olive oil and water into the pan. Season the fish with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Place in the oven and cook 20 to 25 minutes, basting often until fish is cooked through. Remove dish from oven. Using two forks, gently pull the skin away from the fish. It should come off quite easily. Remove the fillets and transfer to warm plates along with the potatoes, tomatoes and olives. Taste the cooking juices and adjust the seasonings if necessary and spoon over the fish.
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https://www.charlottepuckette.com/recipes/main-dish-seafoodfish/roasted-john-dory-with-tomatoes-olives-and-herbs/
