Species sheet · The Edible Ocean
John Dory
An impossible silhouette with a perfect black spot.
- Roasted whole
- Skin-side pan-seared fillets
- Bones and head used for stock
- In French
- Saint-pierre
- Scientific name
- Zeus faber
- In the water
- A solitary fish of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, found near the seabed or in open water while hunting.
- Season & buying
- Availability follows landings; favour clearly stated provenance and current seasonal advice from the fishmonger.
- Common length
- ~40 cm
- How to identify it
- Tall, extremely compressed body
Long dorsal spines
Dark ringed spot on each flank
On the plate
Pearl-white flesh, firm yet delicate.
Avoid: Discarding the frame: yield is modest, but the bones make excellent stock.
Its mouth can shoot forward suddenly to vacuum up small fish.
In Umay recipes
3 Umay recipes call for it.
