Mussels Marinière

I have very fond memories of eating this meal with my dad while growing up and it’s still one of my favourites to this day. This is one of a few recipes that I have memorised as my dad never used a recipe, he was a natural cook and just went with the flow, however its always good to have it written down just in case! With this being said, this may not be a totally traditional version, but it tastes delicious! Fortunately for me, Jack has become as obsessed with this meal as I am, and I still cook it any chance I get.

Ingredients

• 1kg Mussels (doesn’t have to be exact)

• 2 Cloves of garlic

• 1 Shallot or small onion, finely diced

• Small bunch of flat leaf parsley

• Knob of butter (about a tsp)

• Tsp of oil

• 75ml Dry white wine

• 90ml Double cream

Method

Step 1 – Wash the mussels thoroughly under cold water. If there are any that are damaged (cracked) or that are open and do not close when you squeeze gently, throw these away.

Step 2 – Sometimes mussels have a ‘beard’ hanging from between the closed shell. You need to pull these out, sometimes they are quite tough so give it a good yank. Carefully scrape off any barnacles with a knife and place into a bowl of cold water white you do the rest.

Step 3 – In a large saucepan that has a lid, add the butter and oil and soften the shallot/ onion for a few minutes over a low/ medium heat before adding the garlic. While this is softening, finely chop the parsley stalks and add these to the pan.

Step 4 – Once softened, add the wine and mussels, turn up the head and then cover to steam them. They should start opening in 4-5 minutes. While the mussels are steaming, chop the rest of the parsley and shake the pan gently once or twice during this time.

Step 5 – Remove the lid and add the cream and chopped parsley, leaving some leaves to garnish.

Step 6- Serve into large, warmed bowls and serve with crusty home made garlic bread (recipe above).

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