How to make the Fish Shop in Ballater’s favourite dish

I think John Dory is my favourite fish, and I love this dish as it’s communal and a bit messy. Picking meat off of bones is always a good thing. Ask your fishmonger to remove the fins, gills and eyes. This dish uses the best British produce of the summer season, put together to produce the classic flavours of Provençale cuisine. Cooking a fish whole slowly over embers is a great technique — it produces a real meaty flavour, and is always popular with customers at the Fish Shop.
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Serves 4
• 1 yellow courgette• 1 green courgette• 250g ripe cherry tomatoes• 200ml olive oil• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced• 3g espelette pepper• 5 basil leaves• 1 large John Dory• 20ml sherry vinegar• 5g Maldon salt• 10 chives, finely chopped
1. For the Provençale garnish, quarter the courgettes lengthways and remove the seeds. Lightly oil and season the courgettes. Grill them over a very low barbecue, skin-side down so it blisters. We want the courgettes slightly soft but not mushy. Slice the courgettes.2. Now blowtorch the tomatoes briefly to blister the skin then add to ice water. The skins should peel off easily once cooled.3. To assemble, warm the oil up in a pan and add the sliced garlic and espelette pepper. We want to soften the garlic but not colour it at all. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar, skinned tomatoes, the sliced courgettes and the torn basil and leave to marinate.4. Take the fish out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking to allow it to start coming up to room temperature. When ready to cook, lightly oil and season the fish. Again on a very low barbecue setting or over dying embers grill the fish slowly, placing the head of the fish over the hottest part of the barbecue and the tail over the coldest. This should take 20 to 30 minutes, flipping the fish every 4 to 5 minutes. You are looking for a charred and blistered skin and the flesh to start just pulling away from the bone.5. When it’s ready place the fish on a warm serving plate to rest and gently heat up the Provençale garnish, being careful not to boil it. Add the finely chopped chives and then spoon all over the fish.
Marcus Sherry is executive chef at the Fish Shop, Ballater (fishshopballater.co.uk)