Moules Marinières
Mussels Steamed in White Wine with Shallots
A bucket of mussels takes five minutes to cook. Shallots are softened in butter, the mussels go in with a glass of white wine, the lid goes on, and they steam open in their own liquor. In the north of France they come with a bowl of chips, and an empty shell is the only tool you need to eat them.
The French recipe read ties the dish to the north and to the Braderie de Lille, the great street market each September, and serves it with chips. It uses shallots, butter, dry white wine and parsley.
Rick Stein's recipe steams the mussels for three to four minutes and stirs cream into the sauce. Both recipes say to discard open mussels that will not close.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 kg live mussels
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 sprig of thyme and 1 bay leaf
- 200 ml dry white wine
- A handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Black pepper
- Chips or crusty bread, to serve
Method
- Clean the mussels Rinse the mussels in cold water, pull off the beards and scrape off any barnacles. Tap any that are open on the worktop and throw away those that do not close, along with any that are cracked.
- Soften the shallots Melt the butter in a very large pan over a medium heat. Cook the shallots, garlic, thyme and bay for 3 minutes until soft but not coloured.
- Steam Raise the heat to high, add the mussels and wine, cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan two or three times, until the shells have opened.
- Serve Throw away any mussels that have stayed shut. Stir in the parsley and some pepper and ladle the mussels and their liquor into deep bowls, leaving the last spoonful of liquor in the pan in case of grit. Serve at once with chips or bread.
Food safety
Buy mussels live and cook them the day you buy them. Before cooking, discard any with broken shells or that stay open when tapped. After cooking, discard any that have not opened.
Do not add salt. The mussels bring their own.