Ingredients

• 4 kg de moules de Zélande
• 200 g de chorizo extra (doux ou piquant)
• 2 poivrons verts
• 2 oignons
• 4 brins de thym
• 2,5 dl de vin blanc sec
• 4 c. à s. d’huile d’olive
• 4 c. à c. d’origan séché
• Poivre et sel

Preparation

Rincez plusieurs fois les moules à l’eau froide ; grattez-les si nécessaire.

Émincez les oignons en fines rondelles et taillez les poivrons épépinés en petites lamelles. Retirez la peau du chorizo et taillez-le en petits dés. Faites revenir ces derniers avec l’huile d’olive dans les casseroles à moules, d’abord à feu doux, puis à feu vif pour les rissoler. Retirez-les avec une écumoire pour laisser le gras dans les casseroles. Faites-y revenir 5 min à feu doux les oignons, les poivrons, du poivre, le thym et l’origan. Ajoutez les moules et le vin blanc, couvrez et faites chauffer +/- 5 min à feu vif, en secouant les casseroles de temps en temps, jusqu’à ce que toutes les moules soient ouvertes. Ajoutez les dés de chorizo et mélangez.

Delhaize

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 dozen mussels
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Four 6-ounce skinless cod fillets
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

Preparation

1. Bring the wine to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the mussels, cover and cook over high heat, shaking the pan a few times, until they open, 3 minutes; transfer to a large bowl. Shell the mussels and reserve. Rinse out the pan. Pour the mussel liquid into the pan, stopping before you reach the grit at the bottom.
2. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Season the cod with salt and black pepper and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes per side.
4. Bring the mussel liquid to a boil and remove from the heat. Whisk in the mayonnaise, then stir in the mussels. Transfer the cod to shallow bowls and spoon the mussels and sauce around it. Garnish with the red pepper strips and serve.

Food and Wine

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallots (about 1 large)
• 1 Granny Smith apple, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
• 2 thyme sprigs
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 pound skinless cod fillets—bones removed, fish cut into 2-inch chunks
• Crusty bread, for serving

Preparation

Soak the porcini in the boiling water until softened, 10 minutes. Strain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and rinse to remove any grit. Finely chop.

In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the shallots, apple, garlic, curry powder, thyme sprigs and porcini and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the mussels and toss. Add the wine. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over high heat until the mussels have opened, 3 minutes. Add the cream and 1/2 cup of the porcini soaking liquid, stopping before you reach the grit. Bring to a simmer. Nestle the cod in the broth, cover and cook until the fish lightly flakes, 4 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs. Transfer the cod and mussels to large bowls and spoon the broth on top. Serve with crusty bread.

Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 1 bag nicest potato chips you can find
• 1 can tinned mussels, preferably either ceviched or stewed
• Pimenton de la vera (smoked Spanish paprika) to taste
• olive oil

Preparation

Arrange whole, unbroken chips on a serving dish. Top each chip with a mussel and finish with a pinch of pimenton. Finish the plate with a few drops of the sauce from the mussels and a drizzle of olive oil.

Jose Andres Foods

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup parsley leaves
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup plus
• 1 1/2 tablespoons
• Pernod or pastis
• 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs

Preparation

In a food processor, pulse together parsley, garlic, salt and pepper until finely chopped. Pulse in butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons Pernod until mixture is combined. Scrape into a bowl.

In a soup pot with a tightfitting lid, combine mussels, 1/4 cup pastis and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until mussels have opened, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer mussels to a bowl until cool enough to handle; remove meat from the shells (reserving shells) and transfer to a bowl.

Pry apart mussel shells and arrange half the shells on one or two large baking sheets; discard remaining shells. Place one mussel in each shell. Top each with a small spoonful of herb butter and a sprinkling of bread crumbs. Mussels may be made up to 1 day ahead up to this point; wrap baking sheets and mussels in plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to serve, heat broiler to high and arrange a rack 4 inches from the heat. Transfer tray(s) to the oven and broil until bread crumbs are golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Melissa Clark, New York Times

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup canola oil, plus more for frying
• 2 tsp. white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″-thick sticks
• 2 1/2 lb. mussels, debearded and scrubbed
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 leeks, light green and white parts, cut into 1/4″-thick slices
• 1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

Preparation

Make the mayonnaise: In a large bowl, whisk mustard and egg yolk. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in oil in a thin stream until it begins to emulsify; whisk in vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Make the fries: Pour oil into a 6-qt. Dutch oven to a depth of 2″, and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375°. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fries to a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet; chill.

Increase oil temperature to 385°. Working in batches, add chilled potatoes and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, return fries to rack; season with salt.

Meanwhile, make the mussels: Heat a 12", high-sided skillet over high heat. Add mussels, wine, butter, celery, leeks, and onions; season with salt and pepper, and cover skillet. Cook, occasionally shaking skillet, until all mussels are opened, about 5 minutes. Divide mussels between 2 large bowls. Serve with fries and mayonnaise.

Variations

To take the flavor of moules frites in different directions, omit the wine and add one of the following ingredients to the pan with the mussels, butter, celery, leeks, and onion: 1 tablespoon blanched, minced garlic and 3/4 cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon curry powder; 1 tablespoon piment d’Espelette; 1 tbsp. Pernod; 2/3 cup wheat beer.

Saveur

Ingredients

Rouille:

• 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. fish stock or clam broth
• large pinch saffron threads
• one 1/4-inch thick slice of peasant bread, crust removed
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 jarred piquillo pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
• cayenne pepper
• salt

Mussels:

• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 heads of fennel, cored and diced, plus 1/4 c. chopped fronds
• 1 med. onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/2 c. Pernod or absinthe
• 1 1/4 c. fish stock or clam broth
• 4 lb. mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. chopped parsley
• salt

Preparation

1. Make the rouille: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat 2 tbsp. of the fish stock at high power. Crumble in the saffron and let cool. In a large bowl, soften the bread in the remaining 1/4 c. of fish stock.
2. In a food processor, puree the soaked bread, egg yolk, piquillo, garlic, and lemon juice until smooth. With the machine on, slowly pour in 1/4 c. of the oil and the saffron fish stock. Slowly pour in the remaining 1/4 c. of oil. Season with cayenne and salt.
3. Prepare the mussels: In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the diced fennel, onion, and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, 7 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the Pernod and boil over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the fish stock and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook, shaking the pot, until they open, 5 minutes. Pile the mussels in a bowl; discard any that don’t open. Stir the butter into the broth, add the fennel fronds and parsley; season with salt. Pour the broth over the mussels and serve with the rouille.

Food and Wine, April 2010

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 (2 kg) pounds fresh mussels in the shell
• 6.7 ounces (200 mL) dry white wine
• 1/2 pound leeks (white and light green parts) cleaned
• 4 1/2 ounces lightly smoked streaky bacon, thickly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 1 ounce unsalted butter
• Fine sea salt and freshly milled black pepper

Preparation

Clean the mussels and put them in a sauteuse pan with the wine. Bring to a boil, and cook just long enough for all the shells to open. Drain and remove the mussels from the pan.

Halve the leeks lengthwise and cut them in finger-thick slices. Cut bacon slices in very small pieces. Heat the oil in a large skillet, turn down the heat to medium, add bacon, and stir-fry until the bacon begins to render its fat (don’t let it get crisp).

Add leeks and stir-fry until they just begin to soften. Lower the heat, add the butter, and when melted, stir in the mussels carefully. Simmer together just long enough for the mussels to warm up. Add salt to taste and be generous with the pepper. Serve on a heated platter with warm French bread or ciabatta. Any leftover mussels can be used the next day to stuff an omelet.

Serves 4-6.

Florine Boucher, via National Geographic