Mussels with crusty bread

September 24, 2009

I love a lazy Sunday when there’s nothing demanding to be done, when there’s time for a leisurely brunch and there’s no need to cook anything complicated for dinner at night.

Today’s dish is one of those versatile ones that suit a number of occasions. It’s great as an entrée  when it can be presented at the table in individual bowls. It’s a good one to put on the barbecue to have with pre-dinner drinks, or it can do splendid duty as a Sunday night supper for two.

The ingredients are simple but one of the secrets is to cook the base sauce for sufficient time to let the flavours mingle as this is going to form the base for a delicious mussel broth. You don’t need to stand over it, so you can use the time to scrub the mussels and have a glass of wine.

These days live mussels are easy to come by and are generally fairly clean. The major work is removing the beards and giving the shells a bit of a clean. A little wire bruss makes short work of that.

So many recipes say “serve with crusty bread”. This is one that demands it. Pop a loaf of French bread a pre-heated oven five minutes before cooking the mussels and they’ll both be ready at the same time. Or toast some oil-slicked slices of sourdough on a grill plate or barbecue.

Mussels with crusty bread

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 medium head of fennel
1 stick celery, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley stalks
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon chilli paste
1 cup white wine
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper
1kg mussels
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley (use the stalks at the beginning of the recipe)

Halve the fennel and remove the root end, stalks and fronds. If the fronds are intact set them aside to chop and sprinkle over the finished dish. Wash and dry the parsley. Chop the stalks and set the leaves aside.

Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, fennel, celery, garlic and parsley stalks over a gentle heat until tender. Turn the heat up to medium and add the fennel seeds, spices and chilli paste. Cook for a minute then add the wine and stir for a further minute. Add the can of tomatoes and the sugar, stir then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Check the seasoning and add salt and freshly ground pepper as necessary.

Tip in the mussels, cover and steam for five minutes. The mussels are ready when the shells open. Discard any that remain closed. Give the mussels a stir, sprinkle over the parsley (and chopped fennel fronds if using) and serve immediately in deep bowls with crusty bread.

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