There is no greater pleasure than to go take a walk on a cold frozen salt marsh, listening to the geese clacking away, then holing at the local pub by the fire with a steaming bowl of mussels and crusty bread. Mussels in a traditional food of the poor, free harvested from the sea. They even mocked up as only for people who can not afford anything else! Currently foodies flock from all over the country to sample their famous and Brancaster mussels classiest even on the menu. One of the great joys of winter in North Norfolk is that the mussels in season.
To prepare mussels for cooking a very simple, raw shellfish is always sold live and they should be shiny, unbroken and closed. You should not smell but the sea! Get them home and cover them with plenty of fresh water, (shells do not like tap water and will remain closed, they think the tide is out!) Give them a good scrub and remove any barnacles and 'beard' that stringy tough. This is a tedious job that I hate and I always feel very sorry for the chefs back room to clean thousands of shellfish eaten during one season! Give them a little rap on the side of the vessel to examine them closely, if they do not discard them. Cook them for a short time, 4 or 5 minutes, until they open.
Moules Marinere
1 kg mussels, cleaned and debearded
2 red onions
1 Garlic Clove
Salt and Pepper
A small group Parsley
100 ml double cream
Heat oil in a saucepan with tight lid. Add onion and garlic, saute for 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add wine and mussels. Cover with pot lid and steam for 4 to 5 minutes, add cream and parsley and simmer for a further minute, serve with crusty bread.
Choose a good clam shell and use it as a pair of 'jaws' to eat the rest with, did not even try to eat with knife and fork, (I witnessed a very painful episode where the couple did just this) It looks like you can buy silver scallop shells for this purpose, but I prefer the real thing.
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