cernia

The big tasty Mediterranean fish with a massive mouth is the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) or cernia. They can live up to 50 years, change colour to camouflage themselves and grow up to nearly 5ft in length—making large males a favourite target of spear fishers (they are all male...another grouper trick is to change sex once it reaches a certain size). They are one of the only animals that eat invasive and poisonous lionfish.

Most of the ones sold on fish stands are smaller, 1-3kg females. The fillets are simply baked in the oven, but there are dozens of other recipes, too.