Mussels!!!

I love Todmorden.  I do. And I love the stuff we can make when we have a trawl around the fresh and interesting stuff on the inside and outdoor market.  Today Paul had new season mussels from the Menai Straits. That was enough to start me off in the direction of this dinner.  The only ingredient not sourced from the market was the wine ... and you only have to cross the road for that.

Dry white wine
Potatoes
olive oil
Salt
White onion
Sweet picante peppers
Garlic
Mussels
Tomatoes
Basil
Parsley
Salad leaves
Baby cucumber
Radishes
Balsamic vinegar

1.  Pour half a bottle of dry white wine into a jug.  Put the rest in the fridge to chill.
2.  Wash potatoes, cut into chip sized pieces - skin and all - roast in olive oil.  Check on them after about 20 minutes, turn them over so that they cook evenly.
3.  Do stuff ... the washing, the crossword etc for half an hour ...
4.  Wash the mussels, pull off beards, scrub off any barnacles etc ... actually these were beautiful - I only discarded two which didn't shut on a gentle tap.
5.  Finely chop onion, sautee gently in a big pan, in olive oil.
6.  Add very finely chopped garlic (lots of...) and peppers, keep on a very gentle heat.
7.  Chuck salad together - leaves, sliced cucumber, sliced radish - drizzle of balsamic and olive oil - toss together on serving.
8.  Check chips .. finely dice tomatoes and chop herbs.
9.  When chips are 10 minutes away .....  turn the heat up under the onion - add garlic and peppers, stir and cook for a minute or so.
10.  Pour wine from jug into onion pan ... pour chilled wine into glass ... :-p
11.  As soon as the wine starts bubbling, chuck in mussels.  Slam the lid on.  Shake the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
12.  Add the tomatoes and herbs to the mussels, lid on, shake violently ... cook for 2 more minutes.
13.  Serve, scoff ... don't eat any mussels which have not opened.


You may need crusty bread to dip into the delicious juice.

This was good ... really, really good ...

Moules mariniere

I have never really been a fan of seafood... but keep trying every now and again.  Today we found bargain mussels, so thought we'd give them another go - and beeping delish - they need LOTS of garlic and enough white wine - but with a generous handful of fresh parsley... yum.  Finely chopped 3 onions (would have been shallots but we didn't have any - but we did have smallish onions), fry off in olive oil - added 9 cloves crushed garlic and 1/2 tsp chili flakes and salt and pepper.  When soft chucked in 2kg of cleaned (wash, chuck out any which are open/ damaged/ don't shut tight with little tap, scrub off barnacles etc and pull off beards... once washed chuck any which are even slightly open).  Add about 1/2 bottle white wine - salt, pepper and lid on tight.  Shake every minute or so for about 5-6 minutes until the mussels are open.  Drain and reserve liquor - boil liquor rapidly and add splosh of single cream and big handful of chopped parsley - pour over mussels and chuck on remaining chopped parlsey.  Much slurping and sloshing.  Victims all approved heartily - even me. (Don't eat any which haven't opened in cooking).