Thursday, December 20, 2012

273. Moules Frites: Mussels and Fries


Moules frites is a classic French bistro dish that we really do not appreciate enough.
I think we scare ourselves off from trying new foods.
The hardest part about making mussels is cleaning them.
Cooking is actually the easy part. Really easy.
Good news? You can buy them already cleaned, so that's the hard part over with!
The ingredients are so few, because the mussels themselves are quite flavorsome.

I took a few guidelines from ourchocolateshavings, but stuck mostly to how I remember my mother making it.
The wonderful crispy fries accompaniment is optional, but definitely recommended!

A few words of wisdom when it comes to mussels:
Make sure your mussels are as fresh as can be.
Before cooking, make sure all mussels are tightly shut.
Close the ones that aren't and make sure they stay shut; discard those who won't stay closed.
Remove any beard by tightly pulling on the thread.
Once cooked, only eat the mussels that have opened; discard any closed ones.



Ingredients:

3kg fresh mussels
3 Tbsp butter
2 small onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp dry thyme
2 1/2 cups stock
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornflour
1 Tbsp dill, chopped
3/4 cup cream




Method:

In a large pot, melt the butter and lightly saute the onion, garlic, and thyme until just transparent.
Meanwhile, boil the stock (vegetable or whatever you have on hand) in a separate saucepan.
Add the cleaned mussels to the onion mix, add the hot stock and immediately cover.
Let simmer covered 5 to 10 minutes until all the shells have opened.
Discard any unopen ones.
Place mussels in their serving dish; keep warm.
Strain and reserve the cooking liquid.
Dissolve the cornflour in 3 tablespoons of water.
Whisk in the sugar and cornflour paste in the cooking liquid.
Bring to a boil until slightly thickened.
Stir in the dill and cream, pour some over the mussels and the rest in a separate bowl with a ladle (so people can serve themselves).
Serve with crispy fries of your preference.



 صحة و عافية

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