Mussel Stew Recipe
Mussel Stew is a perfect and well flavored side dish for a seafood themed dinner spread. This simple dish can be prepared quiet easily by following this fantastic and simple Mussel Stew recipe.
Ingredients
10 pounds mussels in the shells
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup water or dry white wine
1 tablespoon extra butter for thickening
Directions
Scrub the mussels under running water with a hard bristled brush, making sure to discard any mussel with an open shell.
Rinse in several waters to remove all the sand.
This is most important, as you will otherwise end up with a gritty stew. (When I first cooked mussels I scraped off the little barnacles with a potato peeler and scraped half the skin off my hand in the process. I have long since dispensed with this refinement.)
Melt the chopped onion in the butter.
Add the mussels and all the other ingredients except the parsley and the extra butter.
No salt, please, for the mussels themselves are quite salty.
Put the saucepan on a fierce heat and cover with a glass plate so that you can see when the mussels open.
It takes only about 5 minutes.
When they are open they are cooked.
Fish them out of the liquid and discard the empty top shell and the beard, keeping the shell to which the mussel is attached for serving.
You will be amazed at how much liquid there is now in the pot.
The mussels have, on opening, released all their juice.
Return this liquid to the heat and let it reduce by fast boiling with the lid off.
Add a few lumps of butter to the soup to thicken it, or, if you think that makes it too rich, fortify it with a smooth sauce.
But remember, this soup should not be any thicker than a thin cream.
Rinse in several waters to remove all the sand.
This is most important, as you will otherwise end up with a gritty stew. (When I first cooked mussels I scraped off the little barnacles with a potato peeler and scraped half the skin off my hand in the process. I have long since dispensed with this refinement.)
Melt the chopped onion in the butter.
Add the mussels and all the other ingredients except the parsley and the extra butter.
No salt, please, for the mussels themselves are quite salty.
Put the saucepan on a fierce heat and cover with a glass plate so that you can see when the mussels open.
It takes only about 5 minutes.
When they are open they are cooked.
Fish them out of the liquid and discard the empty top shell and the beard, keeping the shell to which the mussel is attached for serving.
You will be amazed at how much liquid there is now in the pot.
The mussels have, on opening, released all their juice.
Return this liquid to the heat and let it reduce by fast boiling with the lid off.
Add a few lumps of butter to the soup to thicken it, or, if you think that makes it too rich, fortify it with a smooth sauce.
But remember, this soup should not be any thicker than a thin cream.
