John dory, chicken wing sauce and bouillabaisse

  • medium
  • 8
  • 6 hours plus 5 hours for simmering the bouillabaisse
Not yet rated

Max Coen's recipe for bouillabaisse yields a beautiful, classic soup that pairs perfectly with delicate John Dory fillets. The fish is cooked gently over a live fire for an added smoky flavour, and is topped with simply-cooked clams and a makrut lime chicken sauce. We'd recommend making this dish over several days, as the bouillabaisse simmers for 5 hours.

First published in 2025

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

For the bouillabaisse

For the Riesling & makrut lime chicken wing sauce

For the John Dory

  • 8 John Dory fillets
  • salt to season
  • olive oil
  • chilli oil
  • clams, cooked, from above
  • 1 bunch of greens, such as kale or broccoli rabe

Equipment

  • Hand blender
  • Chinois
  • Robata grill

Method

1

Preheat the oven to 190°C fan

2

Crush the langoustine heads slightly, then transfer to a tray with the langoustine shells. Drizzle with a generous amount of oil

3

Roast until well browned, about 45 minutes

4

Meanwhile, heat a generous amount of oil in a large pan. Add the fennel, celery, carrots, shallots, ginger and garlic, and cook over a medium heat until softened, about 15-20 minutes

5

Toast the peppercorns and spices – apart from the pul biber 

6

Add them to the vegetables along with the pul biber, brandy, rum and white wine. Turn up the heat and cook until the alcohol has almost completely reduced

7

Add the tomato paste and cook for 10 minutes to caramelise the paste

8

Once the langoustine has roasted, deglaze the roasting trays with water. Scrape the trays well to remove all the coating from on the bottom of the trays; this is where the flavour lies

9

Add the langoustines and all the contents of the roasting tray to the pot with the vegetables, as well as the smoked haddock and red mullet frames

10

Finally, add the chopped tomatoes, thyme and saffron

11

Add water until the ingredients are just covered, then bring to a simmer. Cook over a low heat for 5 hours

12

Hand blend everything in the pan until fine, including the shells. Pass this through a perforated gastro or large colander into another container, pushing through as much as you can

13

Pass the strained liquid through a chinois squeezing as much liquid out as possible

14

Blend this with the butter and olive oil and season with salt and lemon juice to taste

15

For the chicken wing sauce, wash the clams under running water, then soak them in salted ice water for 30 minutes so they purge all the sand. Rinse with cold water and set aside in the fridge

16

Preheat the oven to 170°C fan

17

Place the chicken wings on an oven tray. Rub with oil and season with salt

18

Roast the chicken wings for 40 minutes, then set aside

19

Toast the peppercorns and then blend them coarsely in a spice grinder

20

Heat a dash of rapeseed oil in a stock pot until smoking hot then add the clams and wine. Put the lid on immediately and cook until most of the clams have opened

  • 175g of white wine
21

Remove the lid then discard any clams that remain closed. Set aside two thirds of the clams in the fridge until ready to serve

22

Add all the remaining ingredients, then cover with a cartouche and bring to a simmer

  • 200g of brown chicken stock
  • 75g of water
  • 2 verbena berries
  • 5g of garlic cloves
23

Cook over a low heat for 1 hour

24

Strain the mixture, discarding the chicken wings and the clams, then add to a pan and cook over a high heat until reduced by half

25

Blend with the cold butter and chicken demi for 2 minutes on full speed and then pass

26

Season with marsala, verjus, Riesling, lime juice and zest, and salt to taste

  • 50g of Marsala wine
  • 30g of verjus
  • 50g of Riesling wine
  • 1 makrut lime, zest and juice
27

Season the flesh of the fish very liberally with salt. After 10 minutes brush it off, and place the fish in the fridge or a blast chiller for 1 hour

  • 8 John Dory fillets
  • salt to season
28

Sear the skin side of the fish over live fire – in the restaurant they use a robata – until caramelised and crisp. Just kiss the flesh side with the heat for a few seconds, and then place on a warm tray over the fire until the flesh reaches 47°C

29

Carve the fillets into two and brush with olive oil

  • olive oil
30

Warm a dash of oil in a pan, and then fry the greens until wilted 

  • 1 bunch of greens, such as kale or broccoli rabe
31

Start with a good helping of the warmed bouillabaisse, and a drizzle of chilli oil. Add the fish, greens and reserved clams. Foam the chicken sauce and spoon a small amount over the top of the dish

  • chilli oil
  • clams, cooked, from above
First published in 2025

A star-studded career with stints at Frantzén and Ikoyi helped inform Max Coen’s creative cooking. Now, at his Notting Hill restaurant Dorian, he’s throwing away some of the fine-dining norms to create his own style of uniquely delicious food: and the city is all the better for it.   

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