Moules Marinieres

Moules marinieres is one of that dishes we only tend to eat in restaurants. This delicious French classic is actually very easy to cook at home as long as you can get hold of fresh mussels. It’s a delicious one-pot dish that is ready in less than half an hour. The best way to eat it is by dipping some warm crusty bread into the creamy sauce.

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How to Buy and Prepare the Mussels?

This quick and easy seafood dish is best when it is made with fresh mussels. You can buy them from big supermarkets or fishmongers and they are surprisingly cheap. When buying fresh mussels, make sure they smell like the ocean and sea air. They should not smell overly fishy and the shells should be closed tightly. The shells of the mussels should be damp and shiny. Ask your fishmonger about when they are harvested, they are best within three to five days of leaving the water.

As with all seafood, the mussels are fresher when you prepare and eat them right away. Mussels will stay alive longer if you wait to clean them until you are ready to cook. Store the mussels in the refrigerator and keep them damp with a wet cloth if you won’t be eating them straight away. Since mussels are living, keeping them in a plastic container or plastic bag will suffocate them. Don’t keep mussels in freshwater, that would kill them as well.

Clean the mussels earliest an hour before cooking them. Since the big majority of mussels are farmed and then held in tanks to flush out grit and impurities, it’s not necessary to soak them in water at home. First, check that all the mussels are closed. Give a gentle tap to open ones and discard those that don’t close within a few minutes. Also, discard any mussels with cracked or damaged shells. Scrub the shells under running cold water with a small, stiff brush. Get rid of any debris like barnacles or mud spots and pull off the hairy beard that sticks out from the shell, if it has one. Once they are cleaned, they should be cooked within half an hour.

How to Cook Moules Marinieres?

Cooking this delicious dish is very simple and straightforward. To achieve the best results, you need to follow few tips and simple steps:

• When the mussels are ready to cook, heat a large pan or a wok on medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the shallots and garlic, gently saute for few minutes until translucent. Add the muscles and pour in the wine. Close a lid and cook the muscles for 2 to 3 minutes or until their shells are all open on high heat. Give the pan a good shake every now and then.

• As the mussels cook, they will release their highly flavoured salty water into the pot. Remove the pan from the heat, remove the muscles on a large bowl using tongs and return the pan to heat. Keep the cooking liquid from the mussels in the pan, do not discard it. Add the double cream and freshly ground black pepper to the pan and let it boil for few minutes then add the chopped parsley.

• Return the mussels to the pan along with the liquid drained from them in the bowl. Avoid adding the grit that settled at the bottom of the bowl. Close the lid and return the pan on high heat for another minute to finish cooking the mussels. Give the pan a good shake making sure they are all covered with the creamy sauce.

• Discard any unopened mussels before serving. Serve with some crusty bread or fries to dip in the lovely sauce and a bowl of Summer Chickpea Salad.

I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious moules marinieres as much as you enjoy eating them ! 🙂

Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

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