Fresh Mussels Provencal Style by Provence Gourmet
Where Paris restaurants trip over themselves to serve up Belgium-style (that might raise a few French eyebrows) moules-frites to the tourist crowd, Provencal chefs are happy with their variations. Mussel farming is the highest-volume shellfish industry in Europe. However, it is by no means contemporary. Shellfish cultivation on wooden stakes is known to have existed by the 13th century in France. The main cultivation areas in France are the Atlantic coast for the blue mussel and the Languedoc, Cote Bleu and Var for the Mediterranean mussel. This year (2014) has been a terrible year for mussel production. You can read more about it here. That might be one more reason to savour this delicious starter recipe that Provence Gourmet has shared with Perfectly Provence readers.
Fresh Mussels Provencal Style by Provence Gourmet
Ingredients
- 1 lb (1kg) fresh mussels bigger ones are better
- 1 bunch parsley washed and chopped
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup cooking salt
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Clean and de-beard the mussels - scratch off the extra bumps and then rinse.
- Put the mussels in a stock pot with some water on high heat.
- Stir the mussels and stop the heat as soon as they have opened.
- Once the mussels have cooled down, discard the empty side of the shell.
- In a small bowl, mix together the butter, chopped parsley, crushed garlic and add pepper.
- Fill each mussel with some of the herb-butter mixture.
- In an ovenproof dish, spread the cooking salt and arrange the mussels (shell-side down). The cooking salt will enable you to lay them flat.
- Grill the mussels just long enough for the mixture to melt.
- Take the dish out of the oven, and generously spread the bread crumbs on each mussel.
- Put the pan back under the grill a few minutes, watch carefully the so the bread crumbs become golden brown in colour and take out of the oven.
- Serve and don’t forget to soak up the remaining sauce with bread after eating your mussels!
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