Moules Marinieres
(Mussels cooked in white wine and herbs Moules Marinieres)
Mussels should be tightly closed before they are cooked and they must be eaten the same day they are bought.
Cooked mussels which are not open should be discarded.
Ingredients:
2kg mussels
60g butter
2 tablespoons oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 shallots or ½ onion, finely chopped
300ml dry white wine or cider
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
Parsley stems
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons chopped, fresh flat-leaved parsley
5 or 6 tablespoons of double cream
Lemon juice to taste
To serve:
Rye or wholemeal bread and butter.
Method:
Scrub the mussels with a hard brush, under running cold water, then place in a sink filled with cold salted water and discard those which float or are not tightly closed.
Leave for 2-3 hours.
With a knife or with your fingers pull out the ‘beards’ which come out of each shell then rinse well under cold running water until the water is free of sand and the shells are clean.
Heat butter and oil in a very wide frying pan or saucepan.
Add garlic and shallots or onion and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until soft.
Pour in wine or cider and bring to the boil.
Add the herbs, salt and mussels, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan, and tossing it with an up-and-down motion twice so that the mussels cook evenly.
The shells should all be open: discard any that remain closed. Scoop out the mussels with a wide, flat, draining spoon, and place them in a warm deep dish.
Discard the empty top half of each shell using oven gloves.
Cover the dish and keep the mussels warm.
Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth (or very fine meshed sieve).
Rinse the pan, return the liquid to it, bring to the boil then boil for 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.
Add the cream and lemon juice to taste.
Stir well.
Pour over the mussels and sprinkle with pepper and chopped parsley.
Serve at once in warm soup plates, with rye or wholemeal bread and butter.
