Moules Marinière

This mussels recipe was always a pub favourite, especially the summer. I used to serve a kilo of them with a big bowl of french fries and crusty bread. It's a great sharing dish with everybody getting stuck in and always looks good on the table.

I can't stress how important it is to thoroughly clean and check all the mussels. Not only do you not want to get bits of sand/shell in your meal but you really need to check each and every one of the mussells to check if they're still alive. A live mussel should either be firmly closed, or shut firmly when squeezed. Any that are from slightly open to wide open- discard otherwise you'll risk getting yourself or family/friends ill! 

Ingredients

1kg Live mussels

1 Garlic clove- crushed

2 Shallots- finely chopped

15g Butter

120ml Dry white wine

120ml Double Cream

A handful of parsley leaves- coarsely chopped

Salt & Pepper

Method

Give the mussels a thorough wash under running cold water. Pull out the fibrous beards and with a paring knife knock off any barnacles- or you could ask your fishmonger. Make sure to check for dead mussels by doing what I mentioned above.

On a low heat soften the garlic and shallots in the butter with seasoning- not too much salt as the shellfish will be salty itself. 

Add the mussels and the wine. Turn up the heat and then cover the pan. The mussels will steam in their own juices and open up within 3-4 minutes. Give the pan a shake every now and then.

Add the cream and parsley and return to the heat for 2 minutes or until all of the mussels have opened up. 

Take off the heat and serve in either one large sharing bowl with the cooking juices or individuals. Serve with plenty of crusty bread (and french fries). I like to have mine with a dry white wine like Chablis or Chardonnay