Moules (Mussels) Mariniere

Prep Time 10 min. Cook time 10 minutes.  

This is the ultimate gourmet quickie. Succulent Mussels in a delicious white wine and herb broth.

Although it is Belgium’s national dish, to me a bowl of Mussels conjures up lazy summer lunches anywhere I can get them.  All this available to you in less than twenty minutes. Yes twenty minutes.

Very little can beat this dish for ease, effect, flavor and interaction with friends. You can easily feed two or 10 and there a number of recipe variations to choose from that involve fresh cream, garlic, tomatoes and even chill peppers. I am conservative when it comes this dish. Why mess with the characteristic buttery, sea weedy taste of fresh mussels when all it takes is a little shallots, a nice soft wine and a few herbs to give them a lift. I must admit that I occasionally indulge in adding a pinch of saffron to the broth for color and richness.

And talk about dunk appeal. Served with a fresh crusty baguette you can dunk the bread into the broth to your heart’s content.

How to pick mussels and clean mussels

I think most people may shy away from cooking mussels because they may not be sure about how to choose or clean them.

Today most are sold already cleaned, bearded and ready for the pot.

If you do come across those that are freshly picked from the sea, pick the closed ones. That is the sure sign that they are still alive and fresh. If they are slightly open press the shell’s together and if they stay shut that too is a sign that they are alive. If they stay open don’t pick them.

Mussels stick to rocks and when they are harvested they sometimes have bits of weed (a beard) stuck in their clamped shells. Most mussels today are farmed and come with very little or no stringy bits but if some are still “bearded” use your thumb and a small knife to get hold of that beard and pull firmly away from the “hinge” along the length of the shell until it comes off.

How to eat mussels

There is no real etiquette involved here and you can use your fingers to pull the mussel from its shell and use the shell to scoop up the broth. You can choose to be a little more “genteel” and using an empty shell and use that as pincers to pull out the mussels.

How to serve mussels

In Belgium mussels are traditionally served with fries. Don’t you dare ask for that in  French restaurant. That would be sacrilegious. They serve mussels with crusty bread that you can dunk into the broth. Either way have a soup spoon handy.

If you do not have fresh crusty bread and do not want to go through the pain of making fries just serve mussels with a few thick slices of any rustic loaf toasted or baked, then drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with a fresh garlic clove.

Life is good.

A fresh mixed green salad goes well as a side dish.

What you need (for two)

1. Toast the bread and rub one side with a garlic clove and set aside.

2. Place a large saucepan on a medium heat. Sauté onion till clear ( about 2 minutes).

3. Add 2 tbsps butter and once melted add wine, bay leaves and Thyme and gently boil to get rid of the alcohol and blend in the herbs flavors.

4. Add the mussels and increase the heat to high. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 3-4 minutes. With a large slotted spoon (if you don’t have one use a regular ladle or broad spatula) turn mussels over to make sure they are all open. When the mussels have opened, remove them to two deep serving bowls. Discard any that haven’t opened after 5 minutes.

5. Boil the broth vigorously for 2 minutes to concentrate the flavors  and season to taste. Turn off heat, blend in 2 tbsps of unsalted butter then pour over the mussels. Sprinkle with extra chopped parsley and serve immediately. Salt

Variations

With Cream 
Add half a cup of heavy cream to the broth, simmer on low heat for a couple of minutes.

With Garlic
Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves to the onions, sauté for a couple of minutes then continue recipe above.

With both garlic and cream
Combine the two recipes above.

With Pernod
Three tablespoons of Pernod to the broth (anise liquor) while cooking the mussels gives any of the above recipes another layer of flavor.

With Tomatoes
This is a variation of the Provençal  recipe. Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves to the onions. When sautéed (for a couple minutes) add a can of chopped tomatoes, 2tbsp sugar (to cut the tomato’s acidity) and bouquet garni (typically parsley, thyme and a bay leaves) and simmer for 10minutes.

Add mussels and cook vigorously for about 5 minutes until all mussels are open. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

 

You might also enjoy...