Rougets à la Niçoise

The pays Niçois conjures in English minds the promise of exotic pleasures. Not the least of these is the spectacle of the fish markets in Cagnes and Mentone, where the midnight catch is displayed, a gleaming haul of marine crustacean splendour. There the gilded John Dory and the rosy mullet are held in great esteem and are both subjected to a typical method of preparation to enhance their naturally delicious flavour.

This consists of two culinary operations: a preliminary gri