Recipes for Main Courses... with Cornish Sea Salt
Mussels with Garlic, Wine, Bacon
From New Country Kitchen by Henrietta Green. This is a take on the classic French Moules Mariniere recipe - the addition of bacon and tomatoes add depth and smokiness to the mussels.
Serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
30g/1 oz butter
115g/4 oz smoked bacon, finely chopped
115g/4 oz shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
450g/1lb tomatoes, skinned and chopped
3 sprigs oregano
Pinch of sugar
200ml/7fl oz white wine
2.25l/2 qt fresh mussels
1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
In a large deep pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil with the butter over a medium heat. Sauté the bacon, shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the tomatoes, oregano, sugar and white wine and bring to the boil.
Put the mussels in the pan, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until they have opened. Using a slotted spoon, lift the mussels out of the pan and remove most of them from their shells, leaving just a few in their shells for effect, and keep warm.
Turn up the heat and bring the sauce to the boil. Boil rapidly for 2-3 minutes to reduce the quantity of liquid by about half.
Stir in the parsley, adjust the seasoning and pour the sauce over the mussels. Serve either on its own or with freshly cooked pasta.
RECIPE TIPS
The edible or blue mussel is native to our shores and, because of the modern farming methods, it can be eaten all year round, although it is at its plumpest and tastiest during the cold winter months. Another advantage of farmed mussels is that they are sold in packs, scrubbed, scraped and de-bearded which saves you a lot of work. Once you get them home, put them to soak in cold water and throw away any that float to the top or remain open, even after you have given the shell a quick firm tap.
FOR MORE FRENCH INSPIRATION
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