1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and lightly fry the onion and garlic, until the onions are soft and transparent.
2. Add the liquids, bay leaves and seasonings and bring to the boil. Add the mussels all at once, and cover and cook over a high heat, shaking the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking.
3. When all mussels have opened (discard any that remain closed) transfer to a heated serving dish, reserving the liquid.
4. return the liquid to the heat and boil rapidly until reduced by half, stir in parsley and season to taste.
5. Pour the sauce over the mussels, before serving with French bread.
Mussel Chowder
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
340g Skinned cod or haddock fillets cubed
455g fresh mussels, washed and scrubbed
115g crab meat (fresh or defrosted)
30g butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery chopped
1 small red pepper chopped
1 small yellow pepper chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
1x400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
600 ml (1pint) fish or chicken stock
55g long grain rice, washed
Method.
1.Melt the butter in a large pan and cook the onion, celery, peppers and garlic for a few minutes.
2.Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and stock then simmer until vegetables are tender.
3. Add rice and simmer until just tender.
4. Stir in the white fish and cook for 5-6 minutes
5. Add mussels and crabmeat, and cook for a further 5 minutes stirring occasionally, until all the mussels have opened (discard any that have not).
Serve immediately with crusty Granary bread
1. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and fry until soft. Then add stock and white wine, bring to the boil and add mussels. Cover and steam for 5-6 minutes, shaking gently to ensure even cooking.
2. When all the mussels have opened (discard any that have not), strain off and reserve the cooking liquor. Leave the mussels to cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, make the sauce: heat the oil in a medium pan, fry the onion and garlic until soft and transparent. Stir in the tomatoes and half the reserved cooking liquor. bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce is thickened and reduced, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
4. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. drain and stir into the tomato sauvce.
5. Remove mussel meat from half the shells and stir into the sauce, along with the remaining mussels in the shells.
Serve the pasta and mussel sauce sprinkled with pasley
