Here's another recipe featured in my NECC course. This one is a delicious mussel recipe, very simple but very tasty. The most difficult part of this recipe is cleaning and debearding the mussels! This process doesn't take rocket science, just good old fashioned elbow grease.
I'm including a recipe for a salad that provides a great accompaniment without stealing the show from the mussels.
Classic French Mussels with Arugula-Frisee Salad
Ingredients
2 tbsp. salted butter
1/4 cup shallots (minced)
1 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. fresh chopped thyme
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 lbs. mussels, cleaned & debearded
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Melt butter in a medium-sized stockpot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent.
Pour in the wine, the thyme and the mussels. Steam over medium-high heat for about five minutes or until the shells open.
Pour mussels and broth into a serving bowl, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately with a crusty French baguette and an Arugula-Frisee-Tomato Salad (see recipe below).
Arugula-Frisee-Tomato Salad
Ingredients
4 cups baby arugula (washed)
2 cups frisee (washed)
1-1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)
1 small Bermuda onion (cut in rings)
Simple French Salad Dressing (recipe follows)
Directions
Place all ingredients in a salad bowl and serve with Simple French Salad Dressing.
Simple French Salad Dressing
Ingredients
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
5 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
Salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Place the first four ingredients into a tightly covered jar and shake. Each individual should add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
