Moules Mariniere

Good evening all.

Moules Mariniere is a France-wide dish, especially popular in the seafood towns and villages along the coast of Beyond - www.beyond.fr

To be honest, if that few words is all I know about this dish, I would not have cooked it. 

Fortunately, I have been given a nice cook book called "A little taste of France". Reason I enjoy this book is simply because of its simple but classic French recipes. Get to know the dishes is always a-first-thing-to-do. It gives me inspiration, wakes up my imagination and also my desires to travel. 

I always love cooking with simple ingredients, a simple recipe but requires techniques and time. Yet sometimes I just want to serve an elegant dish in just less than 15 minutes... Besides all that "always" and "sometimes", I just randomly open the book, and cook.

Last Saturday was another "randomly".

2kgs mussels

40g butter

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 celery stalk, chopped

2 garlic gloves, crushed

410ml white wine 

1 bay leaf

2 thyme sprigs

185ml double cream

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Serves 4

SCRUB the mussels and remove their beards. Discard any that are open already and don't close when tapped on the work surface. Melt the butter in a large saucepan (I used a pot) and cook the onion, celery and garlic until soften but not brown. Just stay around and stir occasionally. 

ADD the wine, bay leaf (just personal taste, I did not use), and thyme. Bring to the boil. Add the mussels, cover the saucepan tightly and simmer over low heat for 2 - 3 minutes. Shaking the pan occasionally would assure all mussels are cooked evenly. Lift out mussels as they open and try to keep them in a warm dish. Throw away any mussels that haven't opened after 3 minutes.

STRAIN the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, leaving behind any sand or grit. I let it deposit for a few minutes while I was rinsing the pot. Transfer the liquid from the bowl back into the saucepan, slowly and carefully to strain any sand or grit one more time. Bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes. Lower the heat and add the cream. Be careful not to boil the soup after adding cream (grainy texture). Season well. 

SERVE the mussels in individual bowls, pour over the liquid. Sprinkle parsley and serve with plenty of bread...

Don't let your scale scares you, enjoy.

Cheers!