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There is something about sitting down to a huge bowl of mussels and working through them until we are left with a pile of empty shells. While most of us love them, however there are so many people who have never cooked them. The good news is that they are so easy to cook. Our shellfish within this area is some of the best shellfish you will find throughout the world, and that especially applies to our mussels. Most of the mussels available to us come form Glenbeigh Shellfish based in Glenbeigh, which is a family run business run by Noel and Patricia Riordan, (for those who are not familiar with this area Glenbeigh is the picturesque area on the right hand side as we leave inch beach).
Few rules around mussels
Always buy from a reputable supplier unless you are very familiar with shellfish and know where to get safe shellfish.
Always ensure they are fresh, they should be tightly closed, if not gently bang them of the counter and see if they close if not discard any that don’t
If there is a foul smell off any of them discard them.
Wash them well in a sink to remove barnacles and then remove the beard from each one beard (small stringy bit from each of them), at this point I suggest when washing them to squeeze each one of them, sometimes you will find that the odd will just have mud and no mussel inside if you keep them in the pot the will spoil the rest. This whole process should take a few minutes.
Once they are cooked and if some have not opened discard them.
Ingredients
1kg mussels
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
15g butter
A bouquet garni of parsley, thyme and bay leaves (all tied together with a piece of string)
100ml dry white wine
120ml cream
Handful of parsley leaves, coarsely chopped crusty bread, to serve
Method
Wash the mussels under plenty of cold, running water. Discard any open ones that won’t close when lightly squeezed.
Pull out the tough, fibrous beards protruding from between the tightly closed shells and then knock off any barnacles with a large knife. Give the mussels another quick rinse to remove any little pieces of shell.
Soften the garlic and shallots in the butter with the bouquet garni, in a large pan.
Add the mussels and wine turn up the heat, then cover and steam them open in their own juices for 3-4 minutes. Give the pan a good shake every now and then.
Remove the bouquet garni, add the cream and chopped parsley and remove from the heat. Enjoy!!!