A few weeks ago we decided we wanted to make moules-frites for lunch sometime in January. That's mussels with French fries. We have a good fishmonger who comes from the Atlantic coast of France every Saturday and sets up a big stand at Saint-Aignan's open-air market. We hadn't cooked mussels in a long time, and, surprisingly, in 13+ years of blogging, I have never before posted about cooking them.
The day arrived on January 19, two days ago. Problem was, we had a few hours of freezing rain before dawn that morning. The car, which I had failed to park under the carport out front, was completely iced over. Walt went out for a walk with the dog at about 8:30 and when he came back he said it was seriously slippery out there. The dog had fallen flat on her belly when her feet slipped out from under her on the vineyard road.
I decided it wasn't worth the risk to go out. The road from our hamlet down to the main road along this side of the river is very steep. The freezing rain had stopped but the temperature was still below freezing at 9:00. We made other lunch plans — leftovers. I told Walt I'd go over to the market in Noyers the next day (that was yesterday) because I thought there was a fishmonger there as well.
And I did go. I found no seafood there. I talked to a woman at a produce stand, who told me the fishmonger who used to set up in Noyers on Sundays stopped coming to the market months ago. It's obviously not a market I go to often. I'm out of touch.
And I did go. I found no seafood there. I talked to a woman at a produce stand, who told me the fishmonger who used to set up in Noyers on Sundays stopped coming to the market months ago. It's obviously not a market I go to often. I'm out of touch.
I had some shopping to do at the Intermarché supermarket over there, so I headed that way. The fish counter was open in the store, but the selection of seafood was limited. Dismal, really. There were some mussels on display, but they were pretty sad-looking — small and not appetizing, lying there gasping for air or water. Half of them had popped open, and that's not a great sign. I decided to pass. I had about given up on mussels for the time being. But as I was driving across the bridge toward home, I realized I had forgotten to buy potatoes.
And we were out. Oh well, I might as well run up to SuperU and get those, and I'll see if they have any decent looking mussels on display. And guess what — they did. I bought them, and the potatoes.
There was still plenty of time before noon to wash the moules, pick through them to eliminate any with open or broken shells, and "de-beard" those that needed that kind of grooming. Once they were cleaned and sorted, it was a pretty fast process to cook them.
Sauté some onion and/or shallot in butter in the bottom of a big pot. Dump in the mussels, shells and all (of course). Toss in some chopped parsley and celery (one stalk). Grind some black pepper over all, and pour in about a third of a bottle of dry white wine. Don't add salt; the mussels are salty enough. As soon as the shells open up, the mussels are ready. It doesn't take much more than five minutes. Oh, and don't forget to cook some French fries. Voilà — lunch.
Usually you're supposed to eat mussels only in months that have an r (September to April, basically).
ReplyDeleteMy Belgian mother-in-law would use only the leaves of the celery, not the stalks. She was shocked when I picked up the stalks she was about to toss and I ate them.
I posted recently about the Belgian technique for frites. Use blanc de boeuf, not oil, and cook them twice.
That's interesting. I used only celery leaves in these mussels. When I buy a pretty céleri-branches, I cut off the leaves and the thin, tender top stems, blanch them, and freeze them in small quantities with the liquid so thay I can add them to soups, stews, and sauces. Did your MIL consider the thicker celery stalks inedible? Or did she just think they weren't good to eat raw?
DeleteThird time's a charm they say. I'm glad you finally found your mussels and were able to make this lunch. I've only had mussels about twice in my life but I did like them. They aren't often available here, far from the sea.
ReplyDeleteI also do them a Belgian way.... dripping, sliced onions, celeriac leaves and.... a bottle of beer.... blonde, brun, blanche.... Chimay White label or Bruggse Zot!
ReplyDeleteI don't cook with beer, or only very rarely (I like a good carbonade). We're in France, so cooking with wine seems more... well... appropriate.
DeleteI'm European.... and I like cross culture cooking and experimenting!
DeleteI also love cooking with beer... have you visited your local Microbrewery?
Apparently he does a very good stout...
I don't really drink beer. I'll have one once or twice a year when we have really hot weather.
DeleteI've only tasted moules once, and would have had no idea how to cook them!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite meals.
ReplyDeleteWhat Evelyn said (as usual). So glad you accomplished your goal, and the meal looks terrific.
ReplyDeleteI had moules at the Red Lobster two weeks ago and they weren't as good as those I can have in France. I was really disappointed because,like Evelyn, it's one of my favorite meals.
ReplyDeleteI remember making moules marinière once when you were here, more than a few years ago. I don't see anything on the blog about that time, however.
DeleteYes, I do remember. I doubt I have photos, but if I do, they would be in my old Firewire external drives the content of which I'll be begining to transfer tomorrow to new USB external drives. You can't stop progress!
Delete