I was introduced to mussels at a young age, but believe you
me, that meeting did not go well. It was off a plate at a dinner party, they
were smoked and canned. Ugh I can still remember the taste. Not pleasant. Years
later I was forced to try them again, they were fresh and from my hometown.
They had been cooked just like in the classic French bistros: fresh herbs,
garlic and wine. I again got sick but this time it was from eating so many I
could barely walk. Living where I do in beautiful Victoria BC, there are many
many options of good mussel places BUT as with most food adventures, they
always taste better done yourself!
I have a handful of Mussel variations all built on the same
mother recipe which I will share with you. In the bistro kitchen variations
were as endless as their menu: had some pancetta left over? Toss it in. Had
some caramelized onions hanging around from last night? Let’s build on that.
Have delicious light bisque ready to go and want to make it into a proper meal?
Let’s add some mussels! Regardless of what I’m adding in I always start with
onions, garlic, herbs (thyme is the classic and parsley is a light option) and
wine. The idea is to start with aromatics and steam/infuse their flavor into
the mussel.
When you buy mussels (as with any seafood) get the freshest
possible. Place them into a bowl of water and pick each one out and give them a
scrub to remove dirt and barnacles. Remove the little dangling hair attached to
each mussel (called its beard) by either cutting it off with a sharp knife or
pulling it off. For any mussels that are slightly open at this time, give them
a quick rap on the counter, if they close they are good to go. If they stay
open, throw them out as they are not good to eat.
Mother Recipe: Mussels
Ingredients:
1 kg Fresh mussels, Cleaned (see text)
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
1 handful of Parsley, stalks removed and chopped fine, leaves roughly chopped and separated
200 ml of white wine
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Preheat on medium high a large pan with a lid.
- Add onions and garlic, sauté for a few minutes.
- Add in herbs, parsley stalks and wine, bringing the pot to the boil.
- As soon as it is boiling, toss in the cleaned mussels, cover with the lid immediately.
- Shake the pot occasionally without removing the lid to redistribute the mussels. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. Open the lid a bit quickly at the 5 minute mark and check to see if all the shells have opened. If not continue cooking for another minute or two.
- Serve in a big bowl topped with parsley, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. A bit of Foccacia on the side works wonders to mop up all the juices. Click here for my recipe for Foccacia Bread.
Variations:
- They can be simple: leek instead of part or all of the onion, a touch of cream at the very end of the cooking time, red instead of white wine, beers instead of wine, etc.
- Here are two of my favorite recipes (and yes, I made both in one day and yes I ate both at the same time):
Rosemary and Cream: Use rosemary instead of Thyme in the
mother recipe. When you check the mussels at the five minute mark, toss in a ¼ cup
cream. The strong herb flavor of rosemary goes well with the heavy cream and
the additional liquid combines with the wine and mussel juices to create a ‘quick
soup’ in the bottom of the serving bowl.
Bacon, red wine and tomato sauce: This is a heavy more
robust flavor profile. With the onion and garlic add some diced bacon, pancetta
or smoked ham. Sauté until the onions are slightly caramelized and proceed as
usual except exchanging the white wine for 100ml red wine and 150ml crushed tomato
sauce. Right before serving skip the oil and drizzle with a nice balsamic
vinegar instead. This recipe is also delicious tossed with linguine or similar pasta.
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