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[5 ingredients | 10 minutes]
mussels with leeks & chilli
From Stonesoup
serves 2
Inspired by the lovely Miss Reaneybean.
I got addicted to moules frites when travelling in Belgium years ago. It became my staple lunch. For a girl from the country mussels seem so exotic – it was hard to get used to them being common place.
I’ve recently discovered pot ready mussels at the fish market which come packed live and are scrubbed, debearded and ready to cook. They last for a few days in the fridge. I Iike to pick up a pack when I’m getting some other fish and have a simple dinner of mussels the next night. A word of warning though. The first time I used them I thought it would be a great idea to add the liquor in the pack to the mussel pot. Not such as great idea as it turned out. Super salty and overpowering my sauce and the mussels. I am now careful to drain the mussels before adding to the pot.
The secret to cooking mussels is to treat each one as an individual. When the first mussels have opened pop them in a prewarmed bowl to wait while you keep cooking their more hardy sibblings. Saves having some mussels just cooked and others rubbery and tough.
Remember the rule with mussels is that if they don’t open during cooking, they’re not good to eat.
1 leek, white part finely sliced into rings
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely sliced
3-5 large red chillis, halved lengthwise
1/2C dry white wine
1kg mussels, scrubbed & debearded
Cook leeks in 2T olive oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan. Stir occasionally until leeks are meltingly soft.
Add chilli and garlic and cook for another minute.
Increase heat to high, add wine and bring to the boil. Add mussels and cover with a lid. Cook for 3 minutes.
Give the pot a shake and remove lid. Fish out any opened mussels and place in a large bowl. Cover the pot and keep cooking for another few minutes. Shake and again remove any opened mussels. Discard any that haven’t opened at this stage and return the opened mussels to the pot to warm through.
Divide between 2 bowls. Great with some crusty bread or even some hot salty fries.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
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