Let’s be honest, a bowl of steaming mussels is a dish for any season! They’re fragrant and juicy for the spring and summer months, but also warm and comforting making them perfect for winter.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1kg Mussels
- 2 large potatoes
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 20g butter
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Handful of parsley
- 300ml creme fraiche
- Juice of half a lemon
METHOD:
Slice the potatoes into thin chips and soak them in a bowl of cold water for a least 30 minutes to get rid of excess starch.
Clean the mussels. Once clean, put them in a bowl of cold, salted water and set aside.
Drain the potato chips and pat dry with a clean towel. Pour the oil into a deep frying pan (you want the oil to be about 2 -3 cm deep) and turn the hat on medium-low until hot, then blanch the chips for 4 – 5 minutes. Leave them on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
Drain and rinse the musels and, in a large saucepan, melt the butter on a low heat and fry the shallots, garlic and chilli until soft. Add the parsley, mussels and wine. Then turn up the heat, cover and cook for 5 – 7 minutes, shaking occasionally.
Finish off the chips by making them extra crispy. Heat the same oil up to a high heat and deep fry the chips again for roughly 2 minutes. Take them out and place them on kitchen paper and season with salt.
Stir the creme fraiche and lemon juice into the pan of mussels and serve immediately with the fries and crusty bread on the side.