still keeping me company
book-ending your day with coffee and lentil soup
mussels tk
Cooking mussels is a breeze: Heat butter or oil, add aromatics and little liquid, turn up the heat and throw the mussels into a large pot. Slap on the lid. They’ll steam and be ready in less than 10 minutes, left agape and swimming in the broth they have produced.
I often cook them simply with garlic, shallots, and white wine, which makes a delicious broth that’s mild and pleasing. Craving a version with more oomph, however, I mixed warm spices, fresh ginger, hot green chile and a lot of chopped cilantro into softened butter. Just a few tablespoons of the spiced butter stirred into the broth, along with a squeeze of lime, created the zippy experience I wanted.
Then, eat them one by one with glee. Toss the empty shells into the communal bowl provided. With luck, there will also be a warm crusty baguette, for sopping up the zesty broth. {David Tanis}
How to Clean and Debeard Mussels
The majority of mussels you’ll find available are farm-raised, which is good news when it comes to cleaning them. Wild mussels can be full of sand and debris; farm-raised mussels arrive pretty clean. Still, you’ll want to give them a rinse.
Place the mussels in a colander in the sink and run water over them, using your hands or a clean scrubbing brush to rub off any debris like seaweed, sand, barnacles, or mud spots that could be on the shell. If you find any mussels with open shells, lightly tap that mussel against the side of the sink. If the mussel closes up again in response to this turmoil, it’s alive. If it doesn’t move, discard it.
The “beard” of a mussel is the clump of hair-like fibers that sprouts from the shell. Often farm-raised mussels will come debearded, but even so you’ll want to check that there aren’t some pesky ones hanging on. To remove the beard from the mussels, grab it with your thumb and forefinger and tug it toward the hinge of the mussel shell. You can also use a knife to gently scrape away the beard.
Once your mussels are cleaned and debearded, they’re ready to cook and eat. Try them in a white wine sauce, with crusty bread covered in aioli dipped endlessly in their sauce. Or, try this appetizer that pairs them with garlic butter. Mussels are also great in a tomato sauce, with saffron, or in an herbaceous sauce of parsley and garlic. The mild flavor of the shellfish makes them the perfect palate for a whole host of flavors—just never forget the bread for dipping. It’s secretly the best part.
