ISO Mussels' recipe

[Jikoni]

I went shoping with my daughter and she saw some mussels and she wondered what they were,after explaining we bought them, thing is I have never cooked them before except in a paella dish.I would like a recipe that won't put her off eating them. Any ideas?

[VickiQ]

Hi Jikoni- I make mussels a couple of different ways-I sautee garlic in olive oil add white wine a little broth or water and thenwhen that's boiling I add the mussels put a lid on then turn down the heat for about 5 minutes.The mussels usually don't take long to open. My husband likes to make a mixture of clams and mussels on the grill in a foil pan. He melts a stick of butter adds a 12oz bottle of beer(two if you count the one he drinks while cooking!!!:) snips fresh parsley.green onion,and adds a good amount of red pepperflakes.He stirs in the shell fish and thenm covers the whole thing with foil and sits it on a hot grill with the top down for about 10-15 min.

[Robo410]

olive oil, butter, garlic, shallots, white wine, fresh parsley etc

to that add some tomato paste and spicy sausage (portugese style)

serve over pasta, or dip crusty bread in it. serve with a crisp salad. yum

[amber]

Mussels are really good in a tomatoe based seafood sauce. I've had it with shrimp, mussels, scungilli.

[buckytom]

you and me both ambuh.
mussels marinara, extra hot!

lightly brown a diced onion and 5 or 6 (yes, that much) cloves of sliced garlic, add i large can of tomatoes (or a dozen or so skinned and chopped fresh tomatoes with a tbsp of paste), simmer for a few minutes, longer for the fresh ones, add italian herbs like oregano, savory, and torn basil leaves, a tbsp of capers, a tbsp of crushed red pepper, toss in the mussels, cover and simmer until the mussels just open. serve with warm crusty bread and evoo with fresh cracked black pepper for dipping.

[Chef_Jimmy]

I steam them in white wine with tomatoes, leeks, garlic, and butter also. Serve crusty bread alongside to sop up the broth.

[Jikoni]

Great recipes. Now I wonder which one to use It's g8 to have many options. I will tell my little girl how lucky she is since her mama joined DC. I will let her choose which one she likes most.Thanks guys, and keep them rolling, I will buy more mussles, and try different recipes.

[bknox]

I like to bake them on the half shell. They cook really fast, be careful. I also steam them and in most cases I eat them with roasted red pepper mayo. Chowder is also a good thing.

I always get hungry when I surf this forum.

[auntdot]

I love shellfood, whether it be clams, oysters, or mussels.

Usually prefer to eat clams and oysters raw, but have never had, or seen, raw mussels on a menu and would not trust the stuff they sell in the grocery.

Great recipes are mussels maraniere, meuniere, and an all time favorite, mussels fra diavolo (yeah, the term implies hot but you can add as little,or as much, hot stuff as you wish. It is a tomato based sauce, and I love tomatoe sauce with mussels). There are manifold recipes for each of these on the web.

Have found the taste of mussels robust, as are the taste of most clams.

The stuff seems to tolerate a variety of spices and methods of cooking.

Have found one can easily substitiute mussels for clams in many recipes.

Just for a couple of other ideas, how about mussel fritters or chowda (just can't get the New England influence out of auntdot). Usually prefer a New England chowda but I think it would work Manhattan style, which I also love.

Too bad one of us is not a fan of shellfish or would be making more of this stuff at home.

[BreezyCooking]

There's a terrific mussel recipe I make all the time that originated at the Legal Seafood restaurant in Boston. The original recipe was obtained & printed in a cookbook put out by Willard Scott, but it's pretty basic & I now make my own adaptation of it as follows. Yes, it is an artery-hardening special - but heck, once in awhile you gotta live - lol!!!

Fresh mussels
Unsalted butter
fresh garlic
flat-leaf parsley
Dry Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
Monterey Jack cheese
Italian bread or French baguette

First off, soften at least 1 stick of unsalted butter (depending on how many mussels you have, you may need 2 sticks) & combine with fresh minced garlic & minced Italian flat-leaf parsley to taste.

Toss your rinsed & debearded mussels in a pot & steam until just open enough for you to remove the top shell & discard. Arrange the mussels - on their half shells - on a rimmed baking sheet.

Divide the garlic butter atop the mussels, top with as much grated Monterey Jack cheese as desired, & sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven until cheese is melted.

Scrape mussels into serving bowls & serve with bread to sop up all that great garlic butter. A green salad also goes well - if you can find the room - lol!!