Moules Mariniere

Mussels are at there best at this time of year. This is the classic French dish of Moules Mariniere. Though the best I have had were in Belgium where it is a firm favourite with one of their great beers.

Ingredients

1.75kg/4lb mussels

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

15g/½oz butter

a bouquet garni of parsley, thyme and bay leaves

100ml/3½fl oz dry white wine or cider

120ml/4fl oz double cream

a handful of parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

crusty bread, to serve.

Method

Wash the mussels under plenty of cold, running water. Discard any open ones that won’t close when lightly squeezed.

Pull out the tough, fibrous beards protruding from between the tightly closed shells and then knock off any barnacles with a large knife. Give the mussels another quick rinse to remove any little pieces of shell.

Soften the garlic and shallots in the butter with the bouquet garni, in a large pan big enough to take all the mussels – it should only be half full.

Add the mussels and wine or cider, turn up the heat, then cover and steam them open in their own juices for 3-4 minutes. Give the pan a good shake every now and then.

Remove the bouquet garni, add the cream and chopped parsley and remove from the heat.

Spoon into four large warmed bowls and serve with lots of crusty bread.

Perfect chips

Mussels go great with chips and a good mayo or aioli, this is how i do my perfect chip.

Perfect Chips

My prefered potatoes for perfect chips is the Maris Piper this is the most widely grown potato variety in the UK and a firm favourite of the fish & chip shop.  For two people the following will be plenty.  If you have no issues with fat then the best fat by far to cook your chips in is beef dripping, this was the favourite of the chip shops for many years before we all became health-conscious, on the odd occasion using beef dripping will give you a treat worth the calories.

500g of Maris Piper potatoes

Beef dripping

Peel and cut the potatoes and wash thoroughly.

Boil a pan of salted water and place the chipped potatoes in a bring back to boil then gently simmer for ten minutes.

Strain and cool the chips on a wire rack, once cool place in the fridge to chill.

In a large heavy-bottomed pan or deep fat fryer heat the beef dripping to 130C, in a mesh basket fry the chips for 8-9 minutes until just coloured.  Remove and shake well to drain off the oil, cool on the wire rack once cool place in fridge to chill.

When you are ready to eat heat the oil to 190C  using the mesh basket fry the chips for 2-3 minutes times can vary depending on the cooker and chip size, once golden brown in colour remove and shake to drain excess oil, place on kitchen paper to absorb any further oil and serve immediately.