Orange Blossom Mussel stew

[Dmntd]

1 lb fresh mussels
1/2 C. still orange blossom mead
1/2 large red onion
1 ea. medium Roma & yellow tomatoe
fist full of green beans
8 oz oyster mushrooms
9 cloves garlic
2 serrano peppers
3 thia peppers
zest of 1 small orange
dash of, salt, pepper, orageno
Butter & olive oil.

In a heavy Skillet heat oil and butter over high heat, chop onion while the oil/butter is heating. Put onion in pan and toss to coat, cover & reduce flame, leave this sit for about five minutes. Peel garlic cut in half, split mushrooms lengthwise, quarter tomatoes, trim and split green beans, leave peppers whole. When onion has turned dark brown, stir in everything but the mussels. Cover and simmer this while cooking mussels.

Rinse mussels in fresh water, using a heavy knife scrape whatever may be clinging to the shells of the mussels. Place in the bottom of an eight + quart stock pot, pour enough Orange blossom mead in the pot to cover half the shell of the smallest one. Over a high flame, steam mussels until the shells open, discard any that do not open within 5-7 minutes. As the shells open, use tonges to remove them to a bowl. Mussels unlike clams will open before they are fully cooked, so when you remove them they Are Not Ready To Eat, and need be cooked further.

After the last mussel has been removed from the pan, pour the liquor from the pot into the skillet. Remove the mussles from the shells and put in skillet, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes.

Serves 2.

Anthony

 

[urmaniac13]

Mussels are the one which made my eyes (and tastebud) open up for shellfish. Until I had come to Italy they always sort of irked me just by the look of them. Not long after arriving at Rome, I was invited to a friend of Cristiano, a nice Sicilian lady who made a pasta full of mussels for us. I was not thrilled at the sight but refusing the plate seemed so not nice, so feeling suicidal I decided to swallow them... but oh!! what a surprise they were actually so good!! I realized what I have been missing out and since then they are listed among my favourite seafood.
This recipe sounds wonderful, I may serve this when we invite Rita, this Sicilian lady who introduced me to mussels next time!!
However, I am not sure what orange blossom mead is, could I use cointreau instead?

 

[Dmntd]

Orange Blossom mead, is fermented from orange bloosom honey, it's closer to wine then beer though it is not either.

Not having mead, 2 Tbs. orange blossom honey mixed in a dry white wine might come close. Not sure that cointreau would give the same results, I'm sure it would be good regardless.

Orange blossom mead: 3 kg orange blossom honey, small handful raisins, 5g wine yeast, water to make 4 liters. Dissolve honey in water, crush raisins then out both in a 4 liter glass jar, rehydrate yeast and add to mixture. Cover with cheese cloth for the first 3-5 days, then fit with an airlock. Everything which comes in contact with the honey must, has got to be sanitized!

There are a couple post here on mead making, for more info including saitization practices, take a look at http://gotmead.com ~ search "Sanitization" it's the key to success.

Anthony