Eco friendly mussels

Adapted from StoneSoup

Mussels are my true love. They taste great, they are very easy to cook, they are cheap, they look great and they are eco friendly! Too good to be true? No.

   

Many kinds of seafood are farmed unsustainably, over-fished, or caught in ways that kill other sea life as well. That is not very nice, huh? Luckily, my beloved farm-raised mussels are the kind of seafood you can feel good about eating.

Mussel farming is a simple concept for sustainable production of valuable seafood while improving coastal water quality.  It can be regarded as open landscape feeding, but in the sea. It’s like an ecological, bio-dynamic, free-range top quality chicken, just even better. (Detailed information for nerds here)

Do not hesitate, just go buy them and let the magic begin in your kitchen :)

Ingredients: (serves 2-3)

1 big leek (or 2 small ones), finely sliced into rings
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled & finely sliced
2-3 tbsp ghee (olive oil can be substituted, but the ghee is simply the best)

150 ml dry white wine

1-2 tsp chili flakes

1 big bunch of flat leaf parsley, washed and chopped
1 – 1,5 kg mussels, scrubbed & debearded

Method:

1. Rinse the mussels in cold water, discard the broken ones and those which are open and are not closing after tapping. Most shops sell the pot-ready mussels which are already cleaned. It saves a lot of work.

2. In a large pot (5 liters or bigger) over medium-high heat, melt the ghee. When hot, put in leeks and short while later the garlic. Stir occasionally until leeks are tender.

3. Add chili flakes and pour the wine. Increase heat to high, bring to boil.

  

4. Put in the mussels, cover with lid. Cook for about 3 minutes.

5. Shake the pot. Open and mix mussels with a spoon, to distribute leeks and juices equally and to make sure that the open mussels from the bottom are not blocking the steam. Add few pinches of salt, the parsley, cover with lid and give the pot another shake. Cook for a couple of minutes more until all the mussels are open. Discard any that haven’t opened by now.

6. Serve with fresh garlic bread and lots of white wine!  

I almost forgot - after the mussel-feast, consider not throwing away the remaining liquid, it is so tasty! I usually use the remains next day to boil pasta in. Just add water to the mussel essence and cook your pasta as always. Such mussel-flavored noodels go well with cream based sauce with garlic, italian herbs and some shimps in. Yum!