1 Mandarin fish 7-8 lb | 3.2 – 3.6kg

2 lb | 900 g large oysters or 1½ lb | 700g small oysters (very fresh)

1½ lb | 700 g large, very fresh shrimps, washed and shelled(2)

¼ bottle of tomato ketchup

4 dsp Worcestershire (Lea & Perrins) sauce

1 dsp olive oil

4 dsp grated cheese

2 dsp butter

8 olives chopped small

8 olives for decoration

1 onion

1 large lemon, washed, dried with a cloth and cut into thin slices

salt and pepper

parsley

Wash the fish in the usual way, wash clean, then put back the roe in its place.

Slit the fish from top to bottom almost to the backbone⁽³⁾. Make cuts ¾ through the meat (but not so deep as to sever completely). Season the outside and the inside well with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Wash the shelled oysters in a little salt and water carefully taking away any residual bits of shell, then rinse with plain cold water and drain.

Mix well the chopped olives and onions, ½ the tomato ketchup, ½ Lea & Perrins sauce and ½ olive oil and ½ the cheese.

Lay the fish on a baking pan with a lip, and which is just large enough to fit the fish in. Fill the inside of the fish completely with this mixture.

Put dabs of butter on the fish and bake in a moderate oven till cooked. Take from the oven, add the shrimps on the gravy and return to the oven for five minutes till the shrimps are cooked. Take from the oven again and add oysters to the gravy and put in again just long enough to heat the oysters but not cook them as they would be tough.

Have a very large dish ready. It will require two people, using 2 or 3 large spoons, to transfer the fish carefully to the dish without breaking. Pour the gravy, shrimps and oysters to cover the whole fish.

Mix the other half of the two sauces with the remainder of the chopped olives and cheese and pour all over. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Decorate with overlapping slices of lemon over the centre of the fish from head to tail and with the 8 olives standing vertically if possible. Add a few pieces of parsley if desired.

1 very large whole snapper (bream or Jew fish are also suitable)

6 large potatoes

6 tomatoes sliced into rings

3 large onions sliced into rings

1 large tin of tomato soup

salt and pepper

olive oil

grated cheese

a little margarine or butter

Note: If cooking a smaller whole fish, adjust the amount of potatoes, tomatoes and onions accordingly.

Boil the potatoes with skin on until firm enough to slice.

When the potatoes are cool, remove the skins and slice into circles about as thick as a finger.

Grease a large baking pan with a little olive oil. Then layer the potatoes in the baking dish.

Top with a layer of tomatoes and onion rings, keeping some tomato and onions for the top of the fish.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the vegetables.

Clean and wash the fish, pat dry using a paper towel. With a sharp knife make some scores in the fish on an angle.

Season the fish with salt and pepper, then place it on top of the vegetables.

Place the rest of the slices of tomatoes and onions on top of the fish.

Pour the tomato soup over the fish and drizzle a little olive oil over it.

Place 4 to 6 dabs of butter or margarine on top of the fish.

Sprinkle with some tasty grated cheese and bake in a hot oven 350°F | 180°C until cooked. Time will depend on the size of the fish.