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‘Scale a red mullet, make an incision just by the liver, season with salt and freshly-milled pepper, and leave to marinate in a little olive oil for about an hour. Cook it a minute or two, until it has stiffened, in the oil from the marinade. Drain it, sprinkle it while still hot, with fennel (the leaves) and serpolet (wild thyme), without overdoing it. Wrap it in 1 or 2 vine leaves, according to its size, tie it up not too tightly and finish cooking slowly on the grill, basting frequently with olive oil. Take care that it does not catch. Untie carefully, without damaging the vine leaves, and serve with a bowl of butter, melted but not clarified.’

Recipe from La Bonne Auberge at Saint-Étienne-les-Orgues

ROUGET GRILLÉ AUX OLIVES

GRILLED RED MULLET WITH OLIVES

It is probably not so often in England that one can get either the vine leaves with which to cook mullet as in the foregoing recipe, or the dried fennel branches for the one on page 286, and then, when one or other of these ingredients is to hand, where is the mullet? So here is another and very simple way of grilling this delicious fish which, in England, you buy when you see it, for it is rarely to be had when you are counting on it.

Having gutted the mullets but left the liver intact in the fish, score them across twice on both sides, and marinate them for an hour or so in a little olive oil and 2 or 3 tablespoons of wine (either red or white, for mullet is one of the few fish which can be successfully cooked in red wine) and sprinkle the fish with salt, wild thyme and some chopped fennel leaves if you have them.

A large red mullet weighing 1 to 1 lb. will take about 10 to 15 minutes to grill, being started off close to the heat. Turn over once and, when the second side is crackling and crisp, move the grilling pan farther away from the heat.

When the fish is cooked, remove it carefully to the serving dish, put the pan with the juices and a dozen or so stoned black olives over a fast flame for a few seconds, pour over the fish and garnish with slices of orange or lemon.

This dish is also good cold.

FILETS DE ST. PIERRE À LA DEAUVILLAISE

FILLETS OF JOHN DORY WITH ONION AND CREAM SAUCE

St. Pierre is the large fierce-headed fish which we call John Dory. Like the haddock, it has the 'thumb-marks of St. Peter’ on its back and its flesh is firm, white and with an excellent flavour, not unlike that of the turbot.

It is preferable to have the fish filleted; off each fish you get 2 rather large thick triangular fillets. Poach the fillets, allowing about 15 minutes, and finish them with the onion sauce as described for sole à la deauvillaise, (page 296) Madame Seignobos, in an interesting book of pre-1914 cookery, called Comment on Forme une Cuisinière, says that in some parts of France the St. Pierre is known as l’horrible, which seems rather unfair to the poor St. Pierre, for, while certainly no beauty, it has an expression of melancholy about its great head rather than anything savage or horrible.

SOLE DIEPPOISE

‘During the stroll along the streets and the quays, the aroma of Dieppe makes itself remarked for its diversity and richness. All ports have a compounded smell of fish and tar and seaweed and alcohol and all the ordinary odours of closely-packed humanity, but that of Dieppe is peculiar to itself. I always feel that it is due to a lingering memory of the more exotic smells of Africa, ghostly scents from the days when the seafarers of Dieppe opened up the trade with West Africa and held for long a practical monopoly of ivory carving in Europe. (If you do visit the castle, there is a fine collection of ivories in its museum.)

‘But richest of all the constituents will be the appetising whiff of your own sole dieppoise as you approach your chosen restaurant, where your dish should now be ready.

‘This is what will have been going on in your absence. The chef will have taken a large sole, prepared it, placed it in a fireproof dish with salt, pepper, butter and a glass of white wine; he will then have placed it