Dave cooked this amazing meal of whole baked John Dory served with grilled and steamed vegetables and a saffron dressing. The dressing was the perfect accompaniment for perfectly cooked fish.
Preheat your oven or barbecue to 180ºC (375ºF). Place the fish – ours weighed 1.3kg (2.85 lbs) – onto a flat baking tray. Rub the outside of the fish with olive oil and season the cavity and the outside of the fish with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Peel a lemon, remove all the pith and slice it finely. Distribute half of the lemon slices in the cavity and the other half over the outside of the fish. Place 2-3 sprigs of thyme into the cavity and distribute some over the top of the fish as well. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, to make the dressing steep a generous pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon of boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Add 40ml (1⅓ fl oz) of white wine vinegar and whisk in 100ml (3⅓ fl oz) of olive oil. Remove the fish from the oven and rest it for 7-10 minutes. Add any fish juices from the baking tray to the dressing, whisk and season to taste. Pour the dressing over each individual portion when serving.
michelle picker cooks 