Instructions: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Turn each fish on its side and remove the head. Wash the fish and clean the slits very thoroughly.

With a sharp knife, cut through the skin right round the edge of each fish, just where the fringe meets the flesh. Be careful to cut neatly and to cross the side cuts at the tail, or it will be difficult to remove the skin later on. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and lay them in 5mm of water in a shallow baking tin.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes according to the size of the fish. The water should have just evaporated as the fish is cooked. Check to see whether the fish is cooked by lifting the flesh from the bone at the head; it should lift off the bone easily and be quite white with no trace of pink.

Meanwhile, melt the butter, take off the heat and stir in the freshly chopped herbs. Just before serving, catch the skin down near the tail and pull it off gently (the skin will tear badly if not properly cut). Lift the fish on to the hot plates and spoon the herb butter over them. Serve immediately with the remainder of the herb butter in a warm bowl.

To eat: first eat the flesh off the flat frame on top; then put your fork on top, slice your knife underneath the bone and flip it over gently on your plate. Lift back the underneath skin with your knife and continue to feast on the sweet flesh. Spoon a little more herb butter over if necessary.

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