Moules (Mussels)

I have always been a big fan of seafood, as a child my Mum always encouraged me to try lots of delicious fish and shellfish that my Grandad and after he'd retired, my Grandads 'contacts' used to bring home from their fishing trips aboard Grimsby (UK) based trawlers (sadly these are few and far -if any remain - between these days).

I was quite a late convert to mussels however, in fact the first time I ate them - other than inadvertently discovered, and inquisitively nibbled a bit, in a seafood soup - was just last year.

Our French neighbour invited us around for Moules et Frites (Mussels & Chips) and not knowing what to expect, went round with a couple of bottles of wine and not a little nervous trepidation.

They were delicious! This recipe is just for the mussels, I'll leave the chips for you to do.

TIP
There is a simple rule of thumb to remember when using Mussels:
Before cooking the shells must be tightly closed - discard any with open shells (if they close when you tap them, they're ok).
After Cooking the shells must be open - discard any that remain closed.

Ingredients. (serves 4)

• 1kg Mussels
• Olive oil - a good slug of it
  
• 3 or 4 golfball sized shallots - halved and thinly sliced - half moons.
  
• 2 cloves garlic - crushed, don't bother peeling them
• 5 or 6 sprigs of thyme (my favourite herb)
• 2 bay leaves
  
• Flat leaf parsley - a good handful, roughly chopped.
  
• Coarse sea salt
• 1 75cl bottle white wine (My mussels are from the Charante Maritime department in France so I use a Charentaise white wine but just use one you like - if it isn't good enough to drink, it isn't good enough to cook with.)

Method.

1. Leave the mussels to soak in cold water.
2. Add the oil to a big, lidded pan (big!), throw in the sliced shallots and garlic and turn on the heat ( I always add garlic to cold oil and then heat it as it can quickly burn and go bitter if added to hot) and gently bring them to a sizzle. The shallots want to be translucent with a slight hint of browning but not browned.
3. Add the thyme, bay and half of the parsley and throw around in the pan a bit. A couple of wooden spoons are useful for this, then add approximately 1/3 of the white wine and bring to the boil.
4. Strain the mussels, discarding any with open shells (see TIP above) and tip them into the pan taking care not to splash yourself with the hot liquid. Place a lid on the pan and gently shake it to slosh that rich liquid around all the mussels.
5. Add the rest of the wine, return to the boil then lower the heat and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes before gently shaking the pan again.
6. Remove the lid, all the mussels should now be open (see TIP) so add the rest of the parsley and the salt.
7. After a couple more minutes serve either into individual bowls or into a big central bowl along with the stock and allow everyone to tuck in along with some crispy chips (fries). The delicious stock can be mopped up with crusty bread or served separately as a soup.

Enjoy :O)

This meal can be served as a main course or as a starter (without the chips).

Roasted Crushed Potatoes with Shallots, Garlic & Herbs

These delicious roasted spuds are an ideal accompaniment to a wide range of main course meals from simple sausages to roasted poultry, beef or even pan grilled steak or chicken breast. Excellent dished out onto a foil tray and popped onto a barbeque.


Ingredients:

• 1lb Unpeeled Potatoes - (Good roasters are Maris Piper or King Edward) - the smaller the better but bigger potatoes can be cut in half.
• 8 to 10 Shallots, peeled but keep whole.
• 3 or 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and gently crushed.
• 5 or 6 Sprigs of Rosemary and Thyme (use dried if you wish)
• 1 or 2 Sage leaves (be careful how much sage you use, it's a powerful herb and can easily smother the other flavours).
  
• 2 Bay leaves
• Walnut or Extra Virgin Olive Oil (two totally different flavours, olive oil is quite acceptable but use walnut if you can, the nutty flavour goes brilliantly with this dish).
• Coarse ground salt and black pepper.

Method:

1) Begin to pre-heat your oven to 180C (gas mark 4-5) while you prepare the potatoes.

2) Put the potatoes, shallots, garlic and half of the herbs into a pan and cover with water.

3) Bring to the boil and simmer until a sharp knife just pierces the potatoes.

4) Leave to cool slightly in the hot water for five or ten minutes then strain in a colander and allow the potatoes etc to steam dry.

5) Oil a roasting tin with a little of the walnut/olive oil.

6) One at a time, crush the potatoes using a large spoon. They don't want to be mashed up but just kind of broken apart and add them to the roasting tin.

7) Place the remaining contents of the pan (shallots, herbs etc) in among the potatoes and sprinkle the remaining un-used herbs over the top.

8) Drizzle the walnut/olive oil all over the top of the potatoes and place in the oven for an hour (longer if needed) until the potatoes are golden and crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside.

You can either serve them immediately or allow them to cool and re-heat them, quickly in a hot oven or on the barbeque in a foil tray.

Deeeelicious.