Red mullet

Rouget barbet

What it is

Rome paid absurd sums for large ones and kept them alive at table so guests could watch the colour change as they died. Its liver is traditionally left inside during cooking, which is unusual and gives the flesh its distinctive depth.

In the kitchen

Scale it gently — the skin is fragile and the colour is half the point. Grill it whole and eat it with your fingers.

Goes with

Olive oil Fennel Tomato Saffron Thyme Garlic Olive Lemon

Also used with

Pastis

In season alongside

Brill Arctic char Brown crab Crapaudine beetroot Crayfish Cuttlefish

Something wrong here, or missing? Tell us