Belgian Cooked Mussels

Serves 4 in 2 hours (included 1.5 hours soaking of mussels in salted
water)

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MUSSEL NEWS

As long as the name of the month has an "R" in it : means for us
Belgians that theRe aRe fResh mussels aRound!

This basic mussel-recipe is delicous when served with bread and the
cooking-water of the mussels. Of course you

can serve it with the authentic Belgian (french...) fries. Yes, we
insist : we invented the fries, but we didn't give an english name to
it...

Tips

* Whatever vegetables you add to the cooking water, make sure celery
is a part of it!

* Buying mussels
- Ask your mussel-seller how much mussels to by for how many
people. Rule of thumb : each person eats about 1 pound (500gr) mussels.

- Check if the mussels you buy are well closed. Try to open one,
if you cannot open it, means it should be good and fresh.

* Serving mussels
If after cooking you see mussels with sand in it, remove them,
otherwise your guests wil be kind of grinding their teeth...

INGREDIENTS

* 4 pound (2kg) mussels
* a lot of onions : at least 4 : sliced
* 1 green celery : sliced
* 1 leek : slice into rings
* 2 carrots : sliced
* a dash of vineager (at most 3 fluid oz, 100 ml)
* some butter to fry the onion
* pepper to taste
* salt to taste (1 teaspoon)

PREPARATION

1. Clean the mussels : the shells shoud be black and smooth, without
any "beards' nor
"crusty grey stuff".
2. Put the mussels in a bucket of salted water, stir them around and
leave them there for
1 and a half hour.
3. Take the mussels 1 by 1 out of the bucket. Press them between your
thumb and
fingers : any mussel that is open or opens has to be thrown away!
We only want the
mussels to be open after they are cooked. Drain the water in a
colander.
4. Take a big and high pot and melt the butter. Add onions and the
other vegetables and
fry until the onions are golden (about 5 minutes)
5. Add the mussels on top, add salt and pepper and vinegar. Put the
lid on the pot and
cook on a low fire.
6. Check the mussels : if the mussels are well opened, they are ready.
If the mussels are
still closed : shake them around in the pot and put back on the low
fire.
7. Serve the mussels with their cooking-liquid if you serve them with
bread. It's just
delicious to dip your bread in the cooking-water of the mussels!

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