Instructions
A Seafood Charlie Recipe
Prep time: 25 Minutes Cook: 10 Minutes – Serves: 4
4 pounds mussels, scrubbed and rinsed, beards removed.
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots sliced.
2 springs fresh thyme
2 cups thinly sliced red and/or yellow bell peppers
4 garlic cloves, minced.
2 bottles (11.2 ounces each) Belgian-style pilsner or lager beer
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh groound black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Crostini for serving (optional)
1. Lightly press any opened mussels; discard any that don’t close in a few minutes or any with cracked shells.
2. In large saucepot, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots, thyme and bell peppers; cook 3 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Increase heat to high; add beer and heat to a simmer. Add mussels; cover and cook 3 minutes or until mussels open; discard any unopened mussels. Stir in lemon juice, butter, salt and black pepper.
3. Ladle shallot mixture into serving bowls; sprinkle with parsley and serve with crostini for dipping, if dessired.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 50g / 3 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 1⁄2 onion , finely chopped (brown, yellow, white)
- 3 garlic cloves , very finely chopped
- 1 kg / 2 lbs mussels , bearded and scrubbed (Note 1)
- 1 cup (250ml) dry white wine
- 2 tomatoes , deseeded and diced (Note 2)
SERVING:
- 1⁄4 cup flat leaf parsley , roughly chopped
- Lemon wedges (essential!)
- Crusty bread to serve (essential!)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat, melt butter.
- Add the garlic and onion, stirring occasionally until onion is soft and fragrant – about 3 minutes.
- Turn heat up to high, add wine and bring to boil. Simmer 2 minutes until the harsh alcoholic smell is gone.
- Stir in tomatoes, add mussels stir to coat in sauce a bit.
- Cover, lower heat to medium high and cook, shaking pot once or twice.
- The mussels are cooked when they are open – around 6 to 8 minutes.
- Toss through parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Be careful with the salt as the mussels are already salty, so taste first.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and serve with lemon wedges on the side so people can use as much as they wish. Serve immediately with crusty bread to mop up the sauce!
Recipe Notes:
UNOPENED MUSSELS are fine to eat, if you can pry them open! It’s an old wives tale that mussels that don’t open are off and should be discarded.
To tell if mussels are fresh, just smell them when raw. They should smell like the ocean. If they are off, trust me, you will know because they will not smell nice!
Mussels nowadays are often sold in packs, already cleaned and debearded.
To scrub yourself, use a dishwashing scrub and scrub the shells to remove loose bits.
To remove beard, use your fingers to get a good grip on the “beard” (stringy bits) hanging out of the side of the mussels, then pull firmly to yank it out.
