Necessity is the mother of invention (and idea theft). – John Dory with Fettuccine, Tomato and Basil

No, I did not steal the fish. Though, the fish was a bit of a steal. John Dory fillets can be horrendously expensive. When one sees JD on restaurant menus it tends to be priced up there with the lobster and truffles. In my own experience, it tends also to be overcooked and pretty awful.

On my Saturday shopping trip, I saw that they were on special and I bought the John Dory thinking “These will be nice.”

Lovely John Dory fillets.

That fleeting muse was as far as I got with it until at 7.00 PM the Wife asked “What’s for dinner? I’m getting hungry.”

“A surprise” was my blurted reply as I sprang from the couch and ran to the kitchen. An unfed Wife can be a pretty unforgiving creature. I checked the fridge, the John Dory, a few tiny tomatoes. Trouble loomed and just as fast, inspiration flashed across whichever cortex handles that sort of thing. I could quickly fix some pasta and cook the tomatoes. There were a couple of leaves left on the basil plant in the window. Hence John Dory with Fettuccine, Tomato and Basil. Time to rip off Stefan Gourmet’s quick and easy pasta. I cracked an egg into the mixer bowl and beat it.

Beat the egg.

Add the flour bit by bit.

Change over to the dough hook.

Wrap the dough in cling film.

I put the dough in the fridge for half an hour and then let it settle. Then, inspiration. I asked the Wife to assist in the pasta making. She can’t be angry if she is involved in the cooking. Can she?

Yes, that’s the Wife’s hand feeding the pasta into the machine.

While that’s going on, I seasoned some flour with salt, pepper and sweet paprika.

That’s youngest daughter’s hand. You can tell by the yellow nail polish.

I have no compunction about ripping stuff off as you can see. I blagged the clarified butter method from Stefan too. So I fried the dusted fish in this.

My clarified butter. A straight rip of Stefan’s.

All that was left to do was the fry the fish in the butter and cook the pasta.

No time to heat the oven to cook the tomatoes. Into the pan with them!

The paprika adds a lovely flavour and colour to the fish. I tossed the pasta in the pan before serving. For my final rip off of the day, I rip the remaining leaves from the basil plant and add just before serving.

I have to put a new basil plant on the shopping list.

The wine paring was pretty straightforward. I had a bottle of this stuff in the fridge. So, that’s what we had to drink with the fish.

A Christmas present, so I have no idea about this wine. Tasty though.

I reckoned it would work with fish as there is a prawn on the label. It did.

Simple food from great ingredients. A rip-roaring success.

All done and served in less than an hour. A happy wife. Happy days. And, happy to rip off Stefan’s great ideas any time!