I had never even tried mussels until five months ago -- when I had this dish in a restaurant and the rich, creamy goodness blew my freaking mind. We set out to recreate it. This is a dish for two that's elegant, impressive and delicious (and surprisingly easy!). The key is in the technique.
"This is the best thing we have ever cooked." - Brian, my BF & co-chef
Ingredients
2 lbs. fresh mussels (for a meal, 1 lb. per person - for an app, a half pound per person)
2 shallots
2 bulbs of garlic (not cloves, but whole bulbs!)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup champagne (a brut wine works well and is at least half the cost of champagne)
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes
Grated parmesan cheese
Dried parsley flakes
Preparation
- Rinse off the mussels and pat dry. Throw away any mussels with an open shell -- these are dead, and will ruin the others.
- Peel and mince the shallots and garlic.
- TIP: Cooking the mussels and sauce will take about 15 or 20 minutes-- and you'll want to serve them immediately. So I'd suggest preparing your side dishes, setting the table and pouring the wine before you start cooking.
Cooking
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep frying or saute pan (it needs to hold the mussels in a single layer and be covered).
- Saute the minced shallots and garlic until translucent and slightly golden, 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the cream and champagne. Stir well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste (a few turns of a mill/grinder or a half teaspoon to start). Stir in a teaspoon of red pepper flakes if you like a kick -- less if you wish.
- Cook over medium heat while stirring about 6-8 minutes, until sauce begins to reduce and thicken. Taste it at this point and add more salt, pepper or red pepper flakes. Full disclosure: we added another teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Add your mussels to the pan and arrange with a spoon to make a single layer.
- Cover the pan and steam for 5 minutes, until the shells open. When they open, they're done!
Serving:
- Pour the mussels and sauce into a large serving bowl. Discard any mussels that did not open.
- Sprinkle liberally with dried parsley and parmesan.
- Have bowls for your guests to spoon up their own servings of mussels and sauce. Also, have an empty bowl to discard shells.
Suggestions: Serve with crusty french bread or dinner rolls (I used gluten-free, of course). You need something to sop up all that gorgeous sauce! A light tossed salad makes a nice balance to the richness of this dish. Others swear by french fries as a side for mussels, but we found we didn't need them -- it feels like carb/starch overkill with the bread.
A Little Backstory:
Have you seen the movie Chef? When Jon Favreau makes pasta for Scarlett Johansson -- she's lounging in bed, watching. He's taking his time, going by feel and instinct, twirling the noodles and sliding them off the serving fork. Good god, that's the most sensual scene ever.
I could go on and on about men who cook. There's an unabashed sexiness in a guy who expertly chops a shallot, swirls sauce in a pan, and improves a recipe on the fly. There's a confidence in cooking. An intelligence. A vulnerability and artistic expression. In the kitchen, men reveal so much about themselves and the kind of partner they are.
Especially when that kitchen belongs to a woman who runs a recipe blog. And while cooking mussels for the first time, he pauses to make sure she captures a picture of the pan, he adjusts the lighting and rearranges the bread so she gets the shot just right -- and he does his part, knowing she'll be happy. Like I said, men reveal a lot about themselves in the kitchen.
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