White Wine Mussels

Having grown up in Maine, I am pretty particular about seafood. I generally don't order many seafood dishes when we go out to eat because I always end up a little disappointed, and then I get grumpy for having to pay restaurant prices for a dish that I know could be so much better if only I had waited until the next time we go to visit my parents on the coast of Maine.

This morning I woke up with a craving for mussels, so I planned out morning walk so that we happened to pass our local fish market. Although I ended up buying enough mussels to serve 2-3 people, I ate them all! I guess that discloses quite a bit of information about me and my cravings....

Anyway, I hope you give this recipe a try and perhaps you will be a little bit more generous than I was and you will share with your friends!

Ingredients:
serves 2 generous portions
2 1/2 lbs live mussels
1 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth / stock
The juice of one large
2-3 shallots, sliced thinly
4-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 fresh chopped parsley
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
Othe ideas for ingredients: lemon zest, fresh chopped basil, extra salt, cooked sausage 

Method:
1) Rinse the mussels under cold water and try to remove all of the beards. You can pull them out with your fingers or you can use a knife to accomplish this.

2) Once your mussels are ready, prepare your broth. Combine chicken broth, white wine, shallots, garlic and lemon juice in a large pot on medium heat. Let the broth cook for about 5-10 minutes and be sure that it doesn't reduce too much; this can happen if the heat is too high.

3) Add the mussels and butter to the pot and turn the heat up to high.

4) Cook the mussels until they all open up.  This should take 5-6 minutes. I like to occasionally shake the pot side to side to make sure that all the mussels get the yummy broth during the cooking process.

5) Turn off the heat and add the fresh parsley.

6) Serve and enjoy!

Additional serving suggestions: 

If you are cooking for guests who may be a little bit particular about interacting with their food, you can take all of the mussels out of their shells and let them take a swim in the broth. That way they can serve themselves with a spoon and eat their mussels as though it were a soup.


Also, as a drink pairing, serve mint and lemon infused water. It is a fresh, simple beverage that plays well off of the flavors of the mussels. Thinly slice a lemon and add a few slices to each glass. Put one entire mint leaf in each glass. Add water and ice and enjoy! (You can muddle the mint and lemon to add a stronger flavor.)