Aldo Zilli's Topsham fish main course served in a mussel broth with rosemary grissini
Ingredients
For the grissini:
- 300 g10½ oz '00' flour
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 1x 7 g¼ oz sachet of dried yeast
- 150 ml5¼ fl oz milk, warmed
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp chopped rosemary
For the John Dory:
- 150 g5¼ oz baby tomatoes on the vine
- 4 -6 garlic cloves
- 14 black olives, stoned and finely chopped
- 100 g3½ oz breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon, zested
- 4 John Dory fillets
For the rosti:
- 1 beetroot, peeled and grated
- medium potato, peeled and grated
- 1 /2 onion, peeled and grated
- 1 egg, beaten
For the mussels:
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 16 fresh mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
- 50 ml1¾ fl oz Pernod
- A handful of wild fennel fronds
- 150 ml5¼ fl oz fish stock
To serve:
- 300 g10½ oz washed spinach leaves
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
Method: How to make John Dory with an olive crust
Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 2-3.
Mix the flour, salt and dried yeast together in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the milk and olive oil. Gently mix everything together to form a soft dough.
Lightly knead the herbs into the dough, then continue to knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour.
When the dough has doubled in size, begin to roll out your grissini. Pinch a small piece of dough from the bowl then, without using any extra flour, roll the piece into a thin stick shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Repeat the process until you have used all the dough, then bake the grissini for 35-40 minutes until golden.
Place the baby tomatoes and cloves of garlic on a baking tray. Drizzle with salt and pepper and season well. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
Raise the oven temperature to 200C/Gas 6.
Mix together the grated beetroot and potato. Squeeze out any excess liquid. Add the onion and enough beaten egg to bind the mixture. Season well, then shape into two flat rounds to form the rostis.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the rostis into the pan and fry for a few minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for about 8-10 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
Mix together the olives, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and two tablespoons of olive oil. Spread onto the dory fillets. Place in the oven for 6-8 minutes.
To make the mussel broth, heat one to two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and shallot and cook gently until soft. Check that all the mussels are closed and discard any which do not close when tapped sharply. Increase the heat to high, add in the mussels, pernod and fennel and boil for a couple of minutes. Add in the fish stock, place the lid on the pan and cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until the mussels open. Any mussels which do not open during cooking must be discarded.
Meanwhile, sauté the spinach in a little olive oil until wilted.
Place a rosti on each serving plate and top with some sautéed spinach. Add the dory fillets on top of the spinach and scatter the roast baby tomatoes around each plate. Ladle the mussels broth into small serving bowls and place a couple of grissini in each bowl. Serve alongside the pan-fried Dory and vegetables.
