DigiBites: Mussel Your Way Through This Recipe From The Bistros Of Paris

Bonjour, News24/680.com followers!

Epicurean Exchange Culinary Travel is headed back to Paris (May 19 – 25, 2019) for our annual Bread, Pastry and Chocolate Tour! This recipe is a quintessential recipe from the bistros of Paris. Served with crusty, toasted baguette and a chilled white wine, it is the perfect interlude when touring the neighborhoods of Paris!  Looking for more classic Parisian dishes in future posts – I have quite a collection to share!

Here’s a little information on the farmed mussel variety which is most commonly found in our local markets: Have you ever seen “bouchot mussels” on a menu and wondered what exactly it means? Bouchot (French for “shellfish bed”) is a traditional aquaculture technique for mussels. It means that the mussel was grown on ropes strung from wooden poles in the sea. This results in grit and barnacle-free mussels with full meats and a cleaner flavor.  In France, bouchot mussels are protected by AOP (protected origin) status, meaning they have to originate from the bay of Mont Saint-Michel to carry that name. However, the species is the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), which is the most commonly farmed mussel species. So, for all practical purposes, a rope-grown blue mussel is essentially a bouchot mussel. –– W & T Seafood 

This is a great dish for entertaining as you can do pretty much everything in advance, up to where you add the wine to the pot. A few minutes before serving, simply reheat the herb-flecked wine and add the mussels, steam and enjoy!

Moules Marinière (Mussels in Herbed Broth)

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup peeled and finely chopped shallots
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 4 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded

•     In a large pot or Dutch oven (with a lid), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until the shallots and garlic and soft and wilted, 1 – 2 minutes.

•     Add the wine and parsley and bring to a boil. Add the cleaned mussels to the pot, stirring them a few times, and then cover and steam for about 5 minutes until the mussels begin to open. Lift the lid and stir them once during the steaming process.

•     Remove from the heat and serve the mussels with toasted artisan bread slices to soak up the cooking liquid.

Serves 6© 2010, Epicurean Exchange.  All rights reserved