JAMES’S Whole John Dory With CLAMS AND courgettes

(Serves two)

‘This was the first dish I cooked on the show,’ says James. ‘No sooner had I finished, than some French people huddled around the pan and started to dive in. A vote of confidence, if ever I saw one.’

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/ gas mark 6.

2 Arrange the courgettes and tomatoes over the base of a roasting tin. Slot the shallot slices in between the courgettes and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

3 Season the John Dory with salt and pepper, place on top of the vegetables and drizzle with half the olive oil. Pour the white wine over and scatter with the basil leaves.

4 Cover tightly with foil and cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully lift off the foil and add the clams, then cover again and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the clams open up (discard any that remain closed).

5 remove from the oven, scatter over the parsley leaves and add a final drizzle of olive oil.