Welcome to the What's for Dinner Café, a place to share recipes and culinary traditions and discuss good food with cyber friends on Saturday evening.
Most people are broke when they graduate from college. I was no exception. And when you're broke, you look for cheap food. Mussels were cheap on the East Coast in 1978. Mussels, meet Cordelia Lear. Cordelia Lear, meet mussels.
It was goodness though because it turned out I liked them. Over the years I've prepared mussels many ways. I cook them in marinara sauce and serve them with linguine. I steam them in a little white wine, remove the shells, add a chili sauce then serve over finely shredded lettuce for an appetizer. Sometimes I steam them open with water that has a little sliced onion, a clove of garlic and a few peppercorns tossed in and just eat.
You've probably heard the line "go to Brussels for mussels." I didn't really go for the mussels, but I did eat them. There are restaurants and bistros that only serve mussels. The menus generally contain a list of slight variations in aromatics and liquid. Serving them in their shells is the norm.
Mussels are a staple on menus throughout France too. They're served with "French" fried potatoes on the side and the dish is named "Moules Frites," commonly served in a large soup bowl and delivered with another bowl inverted over the first. The server removes the second bowl, which you use to collect your shells, and places it above the one containing the mussels.
Here are two of my favorite combinations.
Mussels Provencale
Ingredients:
2 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
2 c. red wine
2 c. tomatoes, chopped finely, or pureed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs. dried basil
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
4 tbs. parsley, minced
4 tbs. butter
Parmesan cheese, grated
Method:
1) Place mussels in a bowl of cold water so the mussels will spit out any sand or mud. Let them sit for 10 minutes. Drain and repeat. Toss any mussels that are open as these are dead. Debeard the mussels, pulling out their byssal threads (aka: their "beards") and place them in a bowl of cold water until ready to use.
2) Place all of the ingredients except for the parsley, butter and Parmesan cheese into a large kettle, Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the mussels have opened. Discard any that do not open. Place the mussels in individual soup bowls and set aside.
3) Add the butter to the kettle and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by one-half. Strain the broth, pour over the mussels, and sprinkle with the minced parsley and Parmesan cheese.
I don't have a little doo-dad to break up the recipes, so I'll just use some text.
Curry Mussels
Ingredients:
2 lbs of mussels, cleaned and debearded
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 Thai chili, finely chopped (can substitute good pinch of chili flakes)
3 teaspoons of ginger, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons of curry powder
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1 can of coconut milk (13.5 fl. oz.)
Pinch of salt
1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped into four pieces and smashed
3 kaffir lime leaves
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
Method:
1) Place mussels in a bowl of cold water so the mussels will spit out any sand or mud. Let them sit for 10 minutes. Drain and repeat. Toss any mussels that are open as these are dead. Debeard the mussels, pulling out their byssal threads (aka: their "beards") and place them in a bowl of cold water until ready to use.
2) Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and stir for a few minutes until they become soft and slightly translucent. Add the chilies, ginger, and curry powder and stir for a minute until fragrant.
3) Add the chicken broth and reduce half. Add the coconut milk, salt, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves if using and bring to a boil. Drain and add the mussels, reduce heat to medium and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook for 6-7 minutes until the mussels open. Discard any that do not open. Spoon mussels into bowls and pour over with broth. Garnish with chopped cilantro and juice from lime wedges.
Here’s a neat trick about how to eat mussels:
Take the first mussel "meat" out with a fork, but don't discard the shell. Place the "attached" shells between your thumb and fore-finger and use the shell as a device to "pinch" the meat of the remaining shells. Forget about the fork and use the pincher shell to bring the meat to your mouth from now on.
That's it for this edition of WFD. And, we're at the part of the program where it's time to discuss what you're having for dinner tonight. So, go get a beverage, put your feet up and stick around a while. Feel free to ask about cooking and baking problems that might be haunting you. We'll do our best to steer you in the right direction.
Bon Appetit!