Christmas, Fish

Festive Cider and Garlic Mussels

’I always cook mussels at some point over the Xmas break. They are sustainable (especially if rope grown) quick to prepare – and delicious!  With that hands-on, shuck-and-slurp ritual, followed by dunking of good bread in the liquor,  it’s a lovely way to gather round the.   Wine and garlic is a classic moules mariniere but I like the local touch of cider and leeks,  sometimes with a chopped apple if you’ve got a nice tart one like a cox.   This is a certainly a recipe ripe for tweaking – recently I added some lemon verbena leaves (I’d just dried a bunch) which was a lovely aromatic note. Another great twist is to add some fresh grated ginger and chopped chilli, as well as or instead of the leek, and switch the cream for coconut milk.’ Hugh

Method

Give the mussels a quick rinse and a shake – you can remove any wiry little ’beards’ that are attached to the shells, but it’s not vital as you can pick them off even more easily when you eat them. Discard any open mussels that don’t close when given a sharp tap.

Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter and oil. When the butter is foaming, add the garlic, leek, thyme and bay leaf and apple and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the leek softens a little. Turn the heat up high, pour in the cider and bring to the boil. Stir in the mustard, then tip in the mussels and place a lid on the pan.

Steam the mussels for 2–3 minutes, giving the pan a good shake once or twice. Check the mussels and if they are almost all open they are good to go. If not, stir well, replace the lid and give them another minute. When the mussels have nearly all opened (discard any that remain firmly shut), stir in most of the parsley and the cream if using (it enriches the liquor of course, but it’s still delicious without it).

Season with pepper and serve in deep bowls, ladling out any liquor left in the pan. Scattered over the rest of the parsley and accompany with plenty of good bread – ideally sourdough – for dipping in the liquor.

Ingredients

  • Serves 3-4
  • 1.5kg mussels
  • A knob of butter
  • 1-2 tablespoons rapeseed, olive or sunflower oil
  • A couple of garlic cloves, bashed or chopped
  • 1 large or 2 medium leeks, finely sliced
  • An apple, cored and diced
  • 1 teaspoon thyme leaves (optional)
  • 1 bay leaf (optional)
  • 250ml cider (or apple juice, or both)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons double cream (optional)
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • Lots of chopped parsley, to serve
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