A slice of comfort: Roasted John Dory with brown butter, lemon, capers and nori 

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A slice of comfort: Roasted John Dory with brown butter, lemon, capers and nori

By Danielle Alvarez

Published: | Updated:

SERVES 2

1 x 800g John Dory, cleaned and head removed

2 nori sheets (Japanese seaweed)

90ml olive oil

1 whole lemon, thinly sliced

60g butter

2 tbsp salt-packed capers, rinsed

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

juice of 1 lemon

  • Preheat the oven to 250C/230C fan/gas 10. Start by seasoning your fish with salt and pepper, and set aside. You want the fish to come to room temperature before cooking it.
  • Next, make your nori oil. Toast the sheets of nori over the flames of a gas burner or under the grill. If toasting over flame, hold the sheets with tongs and gently brush them over the flame. Keep them moving so they don’t burn. Allow to cool, then crush up and place in a blender with 50ml of the oil and a pinch of salt. Blend on high until the oil looks black and smooth. Set aside.
  • Place the fish on a roasting tray and drizzle with the remaining oil. Arrange the lemon slices on top, then roast for 13-15 minutes, or longer if your fish is bigger. Remove from the oven and brush half of the nori oil over the top of the fish. Set aside to rest.
  • In a small pot, heat the butter over a medium heat until foaming and brown, then add the capers and parsley to sizzle for 1 minute. Pour this over the fish and squeeze over the lemon juice.
  • Fillet the fish by using a fork to remove the top fin bones, then do the same on the bottom. Using the back of a spoon, gently push those fillets off the bone and place on a warm serving plate. If you’ve cooked it perfectly, it should look just the tiniest bit pink on the inside and you should have to push a little for the flesh to pry itself away from the bone. If it’s definitely not coming off, then it needs a few more minutes in the oven. The bone should still appear pink, but the flesh will be cooked. Flip it over and remove the fillets from the other side.
  • Finish by pouring all of that beautiful sauce and remaining nori oil over the top of the fillets and serve immediately.

NOTE John Dory is available from specialist and online fishmongers.