Cook: Mussels Provençale

I have this huge love affair with shellfish. I just can't get enough of it!

I can't remember when I first had mussels, but I do remember where I enjoyed some of the best ones.

There were those I had in Belgium, of course. The term Mussels from Brussels ain't for nothing. Even when visiting as poor students, we still managed to try pots of delicious moules at cafes in Brussels. So good. 

There were also those I had at Belgo in the UK. This was in part due to a superb little promotion that they had -- and still have -- every Mon to Fri between 5.30pm to 6pm, called "Beat the Clock". Under this promotion, you can get half a kilo of mussels for a price equal to the time shown on your order. A good deal for students if any! And those mussels were fresh, so no complaints there. I even took the opportunity to go back for old times' sake when we visited London recently. 

And then there are these, the mussels I learnt to make from Mervyn. Yes, that's him of the Cookyn Inc fame.

These mussels are so good, my husband is always asking me to cook them. There are several things that make this a great mussel dish. For one, these aren't made with the cheap local mussels. Instead, I use Spring Bay Mussels, which you can find at Cold Storage in the chiller with the fresh fish. They sell these in 1kg packs for about $18.90, though more recently, I've been seeing the organic version that comes in 500g packs and retails for $24.90 (Yikes, right?). So if you see the 1kg pack, grab those! Of course, you can also make these with the local mussels. The sauce is still excellent.

The other thing that makes this Mussels Provençale recipe so good is the butter. Yes, butter. You stir a lump of butter into the sauce right at the end and it rounds out the sauce so perfectly, it's magic. 

I got the go ahead to share this recipe with you so do try it for yourself!

Mussels Provençale (recipe by Mervyn of Cookyn Inc and Grub)

Ingredients:

1 kg live mussels
1 cup white wine (I usually use Chardonnay)
3 cloves of garlic
10g Italian parsley, chopped
100 ml olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 stick of celery, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 400g tin of tomatoes, diced and juice retained
50g unsalted butter

Method:

1. Clean and soak mussels briefly in ice water for 5 mins. This removes any excess salt.

2. Sweat onions, garlic, celery and peppers

3. Add diced tomatoes. (The original recipe uses only the tomatoes, but I like to include the juice as well, as I like more sauce.)

4. Pour in white wine and let it reach a simmer.

5. Add mussels and cook covered for about 5 mins, till all the mussels have opened. 

6. Remove opened mussels to a bowl, discarding any unopened ones.

7. Continue to cook the sauce in the pot and let it reduce to about ¾ in volume.

8. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the butter.

9. Pour the sauce over the mussels and garnish with parsley.

10. Add pepper to taste.

Incidentally, Mervyn and the Cookyn team have recently opened their first restaurant cafe -- Grub at Bishan Park. You can get the same delicious mussels there, though cooked in a different style. I'm planning to make my way down soon to try some of that.

Have a good Friday everyone, and stay safe from the haze.