Mussel Recipes Wanted

[Shel_B]

Alton Brown had a show on a few days ago about mussels that got me interested in learning more about these delicious bivalves. I've poked around and found some good-sounding recipes for mussels, but maybe some of you mussel mavens have a recipe or two that you like. I'm especially interested in mussels with pasta, in salads, and eaten by themselves. While I like mussels, I've never prepared them myself.

Thanks for any suggestions.

shel

[hummingbirdkiss]

olive oil in a pan. get it hot then drop in ..(and do all this fast so have your stuff prepped) .....lots of minced fresh garlic...big handful of chopped up parsley ...crushed red pepper to taste .. ....sizzle for a second or two and then drop in your cleaned mussels cover and let them pop open then a tiny sprinkle of salt and some fresh cracked pepper

now add a splash of good white wine

or sqeeze a lemon over it ...fresh parsley to garnish mix with cooked spaghetti

serve in a bowl with the juice and crusty bread

if you want and often I do ...you can add diced up canned (good Italain) or fresh tomatoes to this

we have some of the most wonderful mussels here where I live!!!!!

ETA I just noticed where you live ..see if you can find these there Penn Cove

even Costco carries them here in nice sized bags ..fantastic taste, perfectly clean ..reasonable in price.and I have never gotten a bad one!

Edited January 17, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[Shel_B]

olive oil in a pan. get it hot then drop in ..(and do all this fast so have your stuff prepped) .....lots of minced fresh garlic...big handful of chopped up parsley ...crushed red pepper to taste .. ....sizzle for a second or two and then drop in your cleaned mussels cover and let them pop open then  a tiny sprinkle of salt and some fresh cracked pepper

now add a splash of good white wine

or sqeeze a lemon over it ...fresh parsley to garnish mix with cooked spaghetti

serve in a bowl with the juice and crusty bread

if you want and often I do ...you can add diced up canned (good Italain) or fresh tomatoes to this

we have some of the most wonderful mussels here where I live!!!!!

←

Thanks - that's a pretty typical recipe, and a good one. I like the addition of the red pepper.

Yes, you do have great mussels where you are - and wonderful oysters, too, if memory serves me. One of the best oyster stews I ever had was up in your area.

shel

[Shel_B]

ETA I just noticed where you live ..see if you can find these there Penn Cove

even Costco carries them here in nice sized bags ..fantastic taste, perfectly clean ..reasonable in price.and I have never gotten a bad one!

←

Yes, I'm familiar with Penn Cove. They have a very good reputation.

shel

[hummingbirdkiss]

recipes

yes my recipe is typical but when something is that freaking good I figure "why mess with it?"

our oysters are insane you are correct ..when it comes to bivalves short of the "Steamers" where I grew up in RI ..I think where I live has the best ... that is one of the main reasons I put up with our depressing miserable winters

the food

[Shel_B]

recipes

yes my recipe is typical but when something is that freaking good I figure "why mess with it?"

our oysters are insane you are correct ..when it comes to bivalves short of the "Steamers" where I grew up in RI ..I think where I live has the best ... that is one of the main reasons I put up with our depressing miserable winters

the food 

←

I hope ypu don't think I was denegrating the recipe, because I wasn't.

I saw the Penn Cove recipes earlier this morning - some looked to be very good.

It seems that you're rightly proud of the shellfish in your area. I understant - I feel similarly about produce and other items here in the Bay Area.

shel

Edited January 17, 2008 by Shel_B (log)

[martinwa]

http://uktv.co.uk/food/search

These should keep you busy for a while.

But really, why would you need more than a chopped shallot a knob of butter and a large glug of muscadet?

Soften the shallot in the butter, throw in the moules and the wine, put the lid on and don't open it for 4 or 5 mins. Throw away any that don't open and chuck in a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley. If you want you could add cream to the winey juices. Eat with a large hunk of crusty bread and the rest of the wine. Bon appetit.

[merstar]

The following recipe is basically what I do, except I saute some garlic with the shallots and garnish the finished dish with parsley. Also, I use more butter than indicated, and raise the heat to medium/high after adding the mussels. I usually serve this over linguine.

Saffron Mussels

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/22696/...on-mussels.html

[hummingbirdkiss]

recipes

yes my recipe is typical but when something is that freaking good I figure "why mess with it?"

our oysters are insane you are correct ..when it comes to bivalves short of the "Steamers" where I grew up in RI ..I think where I live has the best ... that is one of the main reasons I put up with our depressing miserable winters

the food 

←

I hope ypu don't think I was denegrating the recipe, because I wasn't.

I saw the Penn Cove recipes earlier this morning - some looked to be very good.

It seems that you're rightly proud of the shellfish in your area. I understant - I feel similarly about produce and other items here in the Bay Area.

shel

←

absolutely not!! I was just saying things in response! I love eating in the Bay area! my God you have good food down there that is for darn sure.. ...I get insane about every place I live or visit and think it is the best ever...

because really at that moment it is

back to mussels (you have inspired me to hit the fish market and get some for lunch today and I am excited thank you!!!)

I do put them under the broiler a lot ...then dress them with a home made Italian style dressing

the one thing I never do is put cheese on them ..that really does not work in my opinion ...garlic butter olive oil ...tomatoes....fresh herbs like parsley basil .. thyme thyme ..saffron...they are so easy to work with and quick to fix! whatever combo you like ...

the nice thing about mussels is how much garlic you can use and they are just even better!!! they do not disapear in flavor like some clams do I think ....

Edited January 17, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[johnnyd]

Mussels Parisiennes are delicious and simple.

[johnnyd]

Mexilhoes na Cataplana is a Portuguese dish cooked in a copper cataplana. (Scroll past the tomato for step by step pics).

Really, really good.

[Peter the eater]

Some excellent sugestions!

We eat mussels a lot around here. They look good and taste good plus they are usually not too expensive. A sack the size of a small loaf of bread can be had for a few bucks, although once you lose the shells I find there's not so much meat after all.

My way:

1. Dump mussels into sink/bowl cover with cold fresh water.

2. Rinse shells and pull off any beards, chuck the cracked ones.

3. Steam until open and flesh is orange/pink (around 10 minutes), chuck the unopened ones.

4. Serve on rice or noodles.

One could simply steam with water, perhaps celery, many use white wine and shallots. Those are fine but . . . my way is to use a creamy dark stout, a bulb of garlic and a chopped leek. Use mashed potatoes as the white starchy bed. If you have a Cheiftans CD that helps too.

This is one of the few cases where I actually prefer an overdone bit of seafood to an underdone piece. They toughen up if left to cook too long, but a semi-raw mussel is not my cup of tea. The steaming juice becomes very delicious, scoop some out and pour over the plated shells.

[RAHiggins1]

I have not tried this but it looked good when I read it, Shellfish Paella with Fregola

Edited January 17, 2008 by RAHiggins1 (log)

[heidih]

Alton Brown had a show on a few days ago about mussels that got me interested in learning more about these delicious bivalves

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The show where he took some of the cooked mussels and whizzed them to thicken the cooking liquid? I was really intrigued by this. Has anyone tried it?

[Chris Amirault]

One of my favorite mussel dishes is from Charmaine Solomon's Complete Asian Cookbook. IIRC, it follows the basic steps above but uses onion and garlic, curry powder (I find that a homemade powder with plenty of fenugreek works well here), diced chiles, and cilantro. The acid she uses to finish is lime. It's a fantastic with basmati rice and mustard pickles.

[zeffer81]

Mejillones Gratinadoes (Mussels Stuffed with Mushrooms)

1 lb. mussels, scrubbed and debearded

1 cup water

2 lemon slices plus more for garnish

1 tbs. olive oil

1/2 cup mushroom diced fine

1 tbs minced onion

2 tbs flour

1/4 cup milk

1 tbs lemon juice

pinch of saffron

s & p to taste

1 egg yolk

2 tbs grated hard cheese i.e. manchego

1. Preheat oven to 450' F. Place mussels in deep pan with water and lemon slices. Cover pan and put over high heat, shaking the pan, until mussels open (approx. 3 minutes.) Remove from heat and discard any that are unopened. Strain cooking liquid and reserve 1/2 cup.

2. Remove and discard the empty half shells. Loosen mussel from the bottom shell and arrange them in their shells on a baking sheet in a single layer (it can help to have a layer of salt on the bottom of the pan if they seem tipsy.

3. Saute mushrooms and onions in oil until soft. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Gradually whisk in reserved cooking liquid, milk, lemon juice, saffron and salt and pepper.

4. Lightly beat egg and gradually add to sauce, being careful not to cook it.

5. Place a spoonful of sauce on top of each mussel. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake for approx. 8 minutes or until top is bubbly and lightly browned.

I'm not a huge mussels fan but really enjoye this recipe. It's definitely more labor intensive than your standby of good steamed mussels, but it's also a new twist on a staple. Enjoy!

[Dejah]

I like to saute minced garlic, sliced onion, grated ginger in some oil for about five minutes. Then add finely chopped chili peppers, sliced fresh lemongrass and lime zest and saute for another couple minutes. Add 3/4 cup of white wine and cleaned mussels, cover and steam until mussels open. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste, then add either chopped cilantro or as I do, whole Thai basil leaves. I like this with baguette or crusty rolls to soak up the sauce.

[Jonathan Kaplan]

My personal fav --

Heat a big cast iron pan. Drop the mussels in and place in a *very* hot oven until open. Remove them and add 1 shot of Galiano, Sambuca, (?sp -- sorry, I'm too rushed to look up the proper spelling) or your other fav. anise flavored liqueur. Serve with melted butter, laced with more of the same anise flavored liqueur. If you do it outside on a grill, add fennel stalks to the fire.

jk

[Daniel]

Smoke them and serve them cold with the dressing of your choice.. I can stand in the kitchen and eat these suckers all day.

Or a fun thing might be to smoke them and then chopp and stuff them in mussles with some breading and maybe an andouille cream sauce or something.

A mussel gratin? Or mussles and potatoes.. Make like a ring of potatoes that have been cooling after boiling in the left over mussel and wine stock, dice them up.. Take the potatoes make a ring, top with with wined up mussles.. Maybe through some red onion in with the potatoes.. Marinate the mussles in something, can make it spicy, or clinatro-y..

Love those fried mussel omelets that you get at Thai Places..

Anyone think mussels and tripe would go together in a spicy red sauce?

Edited January 17, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[Doodad]

My favorite is Moules a la Gueze. One of the Belgian national dishes of mussels cooked in Gueze, the unflavored, wild yeasted, wheat beer. And it is that simple. Butter, garlic and beer to boil, add mussels, sprinkle parsley and maybe a touch of cheese when done. Serve.

[jayt90]

Alton Brown had a show on a few days ago about mussels that got me interested in learning more about these delicious bivalves

←

The show where he took some of the cooked mussels and whizzed them to thicken the cooking liquid? I was really intrigued by this. Has anyone tried it?

←

I did not see this, but it is similar to a classic Breton billi bi soup: the whizzed moules could be sent through a sieve and added back to the broth, then thickened with cream.

[Qwerty]

My favorite is Moules a la Gueze.  One of the Belgian national dishes of mussels cooked in Gueze, the unflavored, wild yeasted, wheat beer.  And it is that simple.  Butter, garlic and beer to boil, add mussels, sprinkle parsley and maybe a touch of cheese when done. Serve.

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I've done mussels before in lambic beers and they were excellent. Similar principle when using wine, just substitute the lambic. Garlic, herbs, shallots, and of course, butter. Chopped tomatoes are good as well. It's nice to mount the liquid with the butter as well, giving it a bit of thickness and sheen.

Some nice toasty bread is a must.