Mussels Marinière

Moules marinière are mussels steamed in white wine and they are very European. Serve with a crusty French bread for dipping in the sauce. In Belgium this dish is often paired with crispy Belgian fries and referred to as moules-frites. You will recognize the frites as French fried potatoes. Any opportunity to indulge in frites should be explored, and in this case, served with a mustard flavored mayonnaise.

 

If you don’t have shallots, substitute ½ cup of finely chopped onion and two cloves of garlic, also chopped finely. A chopped leek is also a great addition. If you don’t want to use wine for the cooking liquid you can substitute water.

 

SERVES 4

 

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter

½ cup celery, chopped

2 shallots

 

1 teaspoon thyme

1 bay leaf

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup white wine

 

4 pounds fresh, cleaned live mussels (see Note)

 

2 to 3 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

 

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Instructions:

▪ In a pot large enough to hold the mussels, melt the butter over low heat and add the celery and shallots. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften.

 

▪ Add the thyme, bay leaf, pepper and white wine. You can do this much ahead of time; just turn off the heat until you are ready to cook the mussels.

 

▪ Add the cleaned mussels, cover and turn the heat to high. The mussels will be done when they are all opened and this will take 5 to 10 minutes. When you check them do it quickly so as not to let steam escape since that will be needed to finish cooking them if they are not quite ready.

 

▪ Transfer the mussels to a serving bowl, pouring the cooking liquid over them. If any mussels have not opened discard them. Sprinkle with parsley.

 

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Note: To ensure they are fresh and safe to eat, mussels need to be purchased and kept alive until ready to be cooked. You can store them in the refrigerator, but keep in mind they also need air so make sure you open the bag or cut holes in it.

 

Just before you are ready to cook the mussels, clean them by rinsing each one under cold, running water, using a small knife to cut off the black beards or barnacles that may be attached to the shells. The live mussels will be tightly closed, so if any are open set them aside. If any have broken shells, discard them.

 

After you have finished cleaning, go back to the open ones and run them under cold water. If they close up, they are alive and safe to cook and eat. Discard any that remain open.