smiley73
04-10-2006, 01:07
not really a catch, more of a forrage on the beach, or yap with the monger.
my own version, used to sell them by the dozens of plates each night....
prep..
clean about 1KG of fresh mussels, from the fishmonger is best if you dont know the beds too well, or if you do, home harvested is miles nicer and fun with the kids !
remove the beards and scrub the outer shells well. rinse with plenty of fresh water and discard any even slightly open shells that wont close with a flick of a finger.
roast a whole bulb of garlic in the oven for approx 30 mins on 180-deg or gas mark 7'ish until golden brown, sweet to smell.
on the stove, reduce a third of a bottle of good quality (dosent have to be expensive to be good!) balsamic vinegar, on a gentle rolling boil. (Open the window!)
you can tell when the balsamic is reduced correctly as it will start to froth, rather than boil. remove from heat and cool on the side.
after about 20 mins of cooling.. it will look like black treacle and tastle sweet but sharp. if you have reduced it a little too much and it go's really thick once cool, just heat genlty for a few seconds to use, and spare's can be kept in a container for a month or two in the fridge. go's really nice with any type of fish.. bass is perfect!
anyways...
put the mussels into a pan on medium heat with half (or whole if you are making big double portions) a chopped white onion, a small handfull of fresh parsley heads, 3-4 cloves (more if you like) of the carmalised garlic and a grinding (fresh and course) of black pepper. leave lidded for aprox 3-5 mins until steam appears from the lid. as the mussles sweat, they will open and release the seawater within, effectivley steaming them in their own juice.
all the mussels should now be open and cooked, again, discard any that are not open.
you will now have the stock/juices from the mussels ect to build on in the bottom of the pan..
pour over a good glug of sweet or dry to sweet white wine.
bring this to a high heat and reduce liquid for a few mins with the pan lid half on, then pour on a few fluid ounces of fresh double (single if your watching the waste LoL) cream.
stir it all up gently.
after another 2-3 mins or so, remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and keep warm/low temp in deep, warmed bowls.. you can just cover them in foil, as the added sauce in a few mins, re-heats them.
bring the sauce in the pan to a rolling (not mega hot) boil and reduce by half, or to taste. it should be rich and thick, but stop if the salt from the mussles starts becoming too stong.
leave a little sauce in the pan, as you will have sand in the very last.
pour sauce (+ onions, garlic, parsley) over the mussels liberally, season with a little more pepper, drizzle over with the reduced balsamic (just a little) and garnish with a few sprigs of parsley and a grilled lemon half, dusted with sugar before grilling. loads of fresh bread bread and butter on the side for dipping!
:thumbs:
you will know if you got it right, as the mussels will be beautiful, tender and infused.. and the sauce will be rich and flavoursome with the balsamic giving a nice sweet and sour contrast.
it might sound complicated possibly.. do it once and you will be putting it on the table in 15 mins. easy peasy!!
enjoy.
my own version, used to sell them by the dozens of plates each night....
prep..
clean about 1KG of fresh mussels, from the fishmonger is best if you dont know the beds too well, or if you do, home harvested is miles nicer and fun with the kids !
remove the beards and scrub the outer shells well. rinse with plenty of fresh water and discard any even slightly open shells that wont close with a flick of a finger.
roast a whole bulb of garlic in the oven for approx 30 mins on 180-deg or gas mark 7'ish until golden brown, sweet to smell.
on the stove, reduce a third of a bottle of good quality (dosent have to be expensive to be good!) balsamic vinegar, on a gentle rolling boil. (Open the window!)
you can tell when the balsamic is reduced correctly as it will start to froth, rather than boil. remove from heat and cool on the side.
after about 20 mins of cooling.. it will look like black treacle and tastle sweet but sharp. if you have reduced it a little too much and it go's really thick once cool, just heat genlty for a few seconds to use, and spare's can be kept in a container for a month or two in the fridge. go's really nice with any type of fish.. bass is perfect!
anyways...
put the mussels into a pan on medium heat with half (or whole if you are making big double portions) a chopped white onion, a small handfull of fresh parsley heads, 3-4 cloves (more if you like) of the carmalised garlic and a grinding (fresh and course) of black pepper. leave lidded for aprox 3-5 mins until steam appears from the lid. as the mussles sweat, they will open and release the seawater within, effectivley steaming them in their own juice.
all the mussels should now be open and cooked, again, discard any that are not open.
you will now have the stock/juices from the mussels ect to build on in the bottom of the pan..
pour over a good glug of sweet or dry to sweet white wine.
bring this to a high heat and reduce liquid for a few mins with the pan lid half on, then pour on a few fluid ounces of fresh double (single if your watching the waste LoL) cream.
stir it all up gently.
after another 2-3 mins or so, remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and keep warm/low temp in deep, warmed bowls.. you can just cover them in foil, as the added sauce in a few mins, re-heats them.
bring the sauce in the pan to a rolling (not mega hot) boil and reduce by half, or to taste. it should be rich and thick, but stop if the salt from the mussles starts becoming too stong.
leave a little sauce in the pan, as you will have sand in the very last.
pour sauce (+ onions, garlic, parsley) over the mussels liberally, season with a little more pepper, drizzle over with the reduced balsamic (just a little) and garnish with a few sprigs of parsley and a grilled lemon half, dusted with sugar before grilling. loads of fresh bread bread and butter on the side for dipping!
:thumbs:
you will know if you got it right, as the mussels will be beautiful, tender and infused.. and the sauce will be rich and flavoursome with the balsamic giving a nice sweet and sour contrast.
it might sound complicated possibly.. do it once and you will be putting it on the table in 15 mins. easy peasy!!
enjoy.