Mussel Recipe
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Classic Moules Mariniere
This mussel recipe is the classic moules mariniere. It's a delicious and tasty way to serve mussels.
It's very quick to cook.
Take care in the preparation of your mussels.
Discard any mussels that are dead - if you tap the shell and they don't close, then they're dead, have gone to meet their maker.
Keep the mussels in the fridge and do not immerse them in fresh water as this will kill them. They don't need any water at all between your purchasing them and cooking them.
Scrub the shells with a wire brush and pull the beards away.
Then you're ready to cook the mussels.
Moules Mariniere - Mussel Recipe
- 2 lbs (1.kg) fresh mussels
- 4 oz (115g) unsalted butter
- 1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 small onion - peeled and finely chopped
- 7 fl oz (200ml) dry white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- Large handful fresh chopped parsley
Heat half the butter in a large pan.
Add the garlic, onion, wine and bay leaf and cook gently until the onion is softened.
Bring the mixture to the boil and then add the mussels.
Put a lid on the pan and shake over the heat for 2 to 3 minutes, by which time the mussels should have opened.
At this stage, discard any that have remained closed as they were dead before cooking.
Put the mussels into 2 large bowls and bring the sauce to the boil again.
Pour the sauce over the mussels and serve immediately.
Use bowls to serve the mussels as you'll want to make sure you keep all the sauce and the bowl shape will keep them hotter or longer - putting them onto a plate increases the surface area, which will cool down the food quicker.
Lots of fresh crusty bread is in order to mop up the juices.
The smell and taste is divine.
Variations on Moules Mariniere
Use this mussels recipe and serve over cooked pasta, tagliatelle would be a good choice. Remove the mussel meat from the shells (reserve a few for garnish) then quickly reheat the meat in the sauce. Have your cooked pasta ready in bowls, tip the mussels and sauce over and add the reserved mussels as garnish. Some fresh grated parmesan would be lovely to go with this.
Mussels in a Cream and Saffron Sauce
You could also add some cream to the white wine sauce and some herb, such as a pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tablespoons of hot water. Then you could serve this with crusty bread to mop up the juices or serve with some cooked pasta - again the tagliatelle is a great option as the ribbons of pasta mop up the sauce:
Add 2-4 tablespoons of heavy cream, stir into the sauce along with the saffron and its water. Bring up a simmer and add the mussel meat you've taken out of the shells. Let this heat through quickly and pour over cooked pasta in individual bowls. Garnish with the reserved mussels in shells and a sprinkle of herb, such as parsley and some fresh grated parmesan if you like it.
Mussels in a Tomato and Wine Sauce
At the stage where you're cooking the garlic and onion, you could add two large skinned and diced ripe tomatoes. Cook these and the garlic/onion mixture until all are tender and soft, then continue with the original recipe. If you'd like a stronger tomato flavor, you can add a tablespoon of tomato puree prior to adding the mussels.
Again, these would be good served either as they are with crusty bread or over cooked pasta - you get the idea ;-)
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Cook's Notes Mussels are a super meal for a light lunch in the summer HOWEVER there are some issues. They are filter feeders, so be careful if you go to collect them from the beach that you go to a pollution free area - no sewerage outlets. Also, whilst it's okay to eat commercially grown mussels all year, only collect them when there's an R in the month - so, not May through to August. This gives the mussels time to breed and increase stock. Also the water is warmer and the likelihood of bacteria greater. You don't want your mussel recipe to make you sick! Commercially grown mussels are grown in areas where there is less likelihood of pollution, they're grown on ropes, they are bred in quantity, and they're protected from predators to some extent. If you collect your own, you must be sure of the water where you're collecting from, so to be safer (and to practice an element of sustainability) don't collect May through to August. |
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Mussels Recipe - Moules Mariniere
By Liz Alderson, Mar 21, 2017
How to cook this classic mussels recipe - Moules Mariniere.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 to 4
Main Ingredient: mussels,