RECIPES FOR MUSSELS
(Keywords: RECIPES FOR MUSSELS, saltwater mussels, recipe steamed mussels, preparing mussels, mussels recipe, mussels in white wine sauce, recipe for mussels, how to cook mussels)
SALTWATER MUSSELS
Mussels are as Dutch as clogs and dykes. The tides and sand banks of the Waddenzee and Zeeland make perfect breeding grounds for growing mussels. It's become a specialised family business, handed down father to son for generations, taking at least three years before the saltwater mussels are large enough to be reaped.
The seawater mussel, same as whales oddly, feeds in the main on plankton which are tiny sea plants and animals floating in the water. Most mussels that you will find today in shops are the blue mussel, and thought they’re cultivated commercially, they are still fed by the sea.
I've just spent the summer of 2011 in Holland. Though it was a miserable Dutch summer, Spring was one of the warmest on record with record levels of plankton. The result... three times in nine weeks, recipe steamed mussels was on the menu.
PURCHASING YOUR MUSSELS
Before buying your mussels have a good look at them. Check the sell-by date. If it’s not several days hence, don’t buy them. Are many broken, and are the shells open? Move on, or wait for another day. Ask the attendant on which days the fresh mussels arrive. You’ll pay more for the bigger mussels for their plump and juicy flesh, but the small ones taste just as good. I choose for freshness rather than size. Why? I’m very rarely sick, but never will I forget the four-day diarrhoea after eating mussels (for the first time, albeit) at a restaurant in Brugge. (Ever been to Brugge? Put it on your must-see list, but avoid the film I’m told. The mussels too.). Once a mussel dies it can make you awefully sick. I know… So, choose mussels that are in the main tightly closed, and ALWAYS eat them on the same day you buy them.
CLEANING MUSSELS and PREPARING MUSSELS
As soon as I get home - I throw my saltwater mussels in a bucket of cold fresh water, and before long you’ll notice them open and closing. That’s a good sign. Replace the water several times; in particular it helps to get any grains of sand left in your mussels.
- Get another small basin of water, and carefully go through the mussels, one at a time. It’s worth the trouble.
- Prize off any tiny barnacles that have attached to the mussels and pull off any of the tiny ‘beard’ which is what they use to attach to the rocks.
- Immediately chuck any that have broken shells. They are probably dead, and may be very toxic. Dead meat goes off!
- Any of the mussels that are open, particularly wide open, you’ll learn the look after doing it once or twice, and put in your separate basin of water. Give them a good tap, or flick them with a nail. If they close, drop them back into the sink. If not, leave them in the bowl, and watch them.
- Swish the water around your good mussels in the sink a few times, replacing the water periodically.
- Right, you now have a sink full of your good mussels, now learn, still in cold water, and a small bowl that contains hopefully only a handful of your dubious mussels.
PREPARING THE VEGETABLES
RECIPES FOR MUSSELS
For these delic recipes for mussels dishes you need some aromatic vegetables. It’s important to add vegetable fibre to your meal anyway, and this is the place to do it. I like a leek, some carrots, and good handful of parsley benefits and perhaps a few cloves of garlic. Shallots, chives, a stick of celery, add your favourites. No reason not to add a vegetable like broccoli too. If you like Oriental food try adding coconut milk, ginger and hot chilli, and other flavours like lemongrass. - Clean and slice your leek, being sure to get all the mud out of the tops. I like to use the green leaves of the leek too. It’s all nutritious. It’s best to slice the top off the leek, slice it down the middle and wash out any dirt carefully. Shake off the excess water. The hard white stem you can just slice.
- If your cholesterol is in good shape, throw a good dollop of butter in a large heavy-bottom pot and, when it’s melted, throw in the leeks. Otherwise, olive oil.
- Slice your carrots thinly and toss them in with the leeks, stirring regularly.
- Add the chopped parsley, and the other spices and herbs.
Meantime, drain your mussels completely. Tap those in your basin a last few times. Those that are obviously dead, discard. I used to toss the slightly dubious ones too, but I haven’t had a second bad experience, so I usually use them now. Your call…
COOKING YOUR MUSSELS
RECIPE STEAMED MUSSELS
- Don’t add any water to your vegetable mix. The mussels still have plenty of water in them.
- Turn up the heat, and scoop your mussels on top of the vegetables for this scrumptious steamed mussels recipe.
- Slosh some white wine over the mussels, and put on the lid to steam them. Now you have delic mussels in white wine sauce. Mussels recipes abound!
- Frequently, using a large spoon, dig down to the bottom and scoop the veges and white wine to the top, so their favours can dribble down through the mussels.
- Mussels need very little cooking. As soon as the shells start to open, you know they are ready to be eaten. Don't overcook them or you'll end up with rubbery flesh. Discard any that fail to open fully, and don’t worry about the colour. The females have orange meat, and the male's flesh is whiter.
THE SUCCULENT FLAVOUR OF THE SEA!
HOW TO COOK MUSSELS - dead easy, right?
Make haste! Take your steaming mussels directly to the table, and scoop them into large bowls together with the veges, on a bed of wild brown rice. The juicy bouillon too, with a dab of butter on the rice if your cholesterol is in order.
"I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food I'm cooking!"
Julia Childs
Mussel and chickpea soup
This year I must have been a little generous with the white wine, because at the end of one meal, I had half a pint of mussel bouillon left over. Mmm, what to do with it? Aha...- Half a pint of mussel bouillon, left from your recipes for mussels. I included half a dozen mussels too.
- One onion
- 2 cups of soaked and boiled chickpeas
- One very ripe tomato
- One slither of chili
Tip: Because I make our
Authentic Hummus Recipe
at least twice a week (it takes only four minutes, after all), I keep a large stock of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in the freezer. So, another of our recipes for mussels. Fry the onion in a little butter, add the tomato and the chili and the stock, and boil for ten minutes. Sprinkle with a little parsley, and if you want to be disgusting, add a teaspoon of whipped cream to each bowl. If you cholesterol is in order, which it must be if you follow the recipes at my sites. Just another of our saltwater mussels recipes. Stunningly good. Chickpeas incidently are second only to
Quaker Oats recipes
in lower cholesterol. Eat oats and chickpeas every day, and an apple, and you can almost certainly dump the rest of your cholesterol medication, with their nasty side-effects.
MUSSEL FACTS
Shellfish get a lot of bad press, but what are the facts... are they high in cholesterol or...
MUSSEL FACTS ...
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