Recipe - Mmmmm Mussels

The other night we made mussels.  Well, I de-bearded (yuck, I do feel bad ripping their beards off!) and washed and cooked them, but Nik did a lot of chopping.  :)

Here is the recipe if you fancy trying it for yourself, they were yummy!

We adapted one from this book which looks like it would be awful but don't judge it, I've enjoyed some really good recipes from this book!!

Using my handy perspex book stand and splash guard I inherited from Mum!

We adapted it slightly after reading some bits of other recipes when looking for one for Moules marinière.  It did call for fresh thyme and parsley which we didn't have - buying the mussels was a spur of the moment thing so we didn't know the recipe when we were in Tesco!  Here's what we did...

Ingredients:
50g Butter
5 Spring Onions, finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
10 Cherry Tomatoes, roughly chopped
100ml White Wine
4 Bay Leaves
Salt & Pepper
1kg Fresh Mussels
100ml Single Cream

Method:
Clean and de-beard the mussels, removing any barnacles with a blunt knife.  Discard any mussels that don't close when given a sharp tap.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook gently for around 5 minutes until lightly browned, add the tomatoes and cook for a further minute.

Add the wine, bay leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the mussels, stir gently, cover and bring to the boil.  Steam the mussels for 5-6 minutes until the mussels have opened, shaking the pan frequently.

Mmmm, steamy

Add the cream and stir before serving in warmed bowls.  Discard any mussels which haven't opened.  Serve with white wine (optional!) and plenty of warm crusty bread or toast to soak up the yummy juices.  Have an empty bowl handy for the shells.

We think they would have been even nicer with some chopped fresh chillies in, going to try that next time!