On Saturday, I bought a 1 kg package of nice Dutch mussels, cleaned,
de-bearded and vacuum-packed in sea water. Debearded mussels must be
consumed as soon as possible, as they cannot live for very long. So, I
cooked them the same day, even though the use-by date was next
Wednesday. I used a combination of a Rhineland recipe, with onions,
garlic and juniper berries, and, in addition, sauce Poulette with egg
yolks and crème fraîche (a very nice but expensive d'Isigny brand). The
cooking liquid resulted in a very tasty broth.

Mussels

2 large egg yolks
12.5 cl (1/2 cup) crème fraîche
1 kg (2.2 pounds) fresh mussels
1 medium-sized onion, finely minced
59 g (1.8 ounces) butter
2 cloves fresh, still soft garlic, finely minced
1 fresh bay leaf
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
5 juniper berries
250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine (Sauvignon blanc in this case)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Combine the egg yolks and crème fraîche in a small bowl, and whisk
until well blended. Set aside.

Rinse the mussels carefully (not really necessary in this case), then
let them lie in water for a while, shedding any sand (they did not shed
any sand in this case). Wash them again in running water, using a stiff
brush (not really necessary in this case). Throw away any that remain
open (I had to throw out two, because the shells were broken).

Melt the butter in a non-reactive large skillet over medium heat. Add
the onions and cook very slowly until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the
thyme, juniper berries, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Pour in the wine and
bring to boil over high heat. Add the mussels and cook, covered,
stirring from time to time, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard any mussels that
remain closed (none did).

Remove from the heat and stir in the crème-fraîche-and-egg-yolk mixture,
bathing the mussels in the sauce. Reheat the sauce gently, without
boiling.

Serve the mussels in the broth, with black rye bread or pumpernickel,
and butter.

Victor

In article >,
(Victor Sack) wrote:

> On Saturday, I bought a 1 kg package of nice Dutch mussels, cleaned,
> de-bearded and vacuum-packed in sea water. Debearded mussels must be
> consumed as soon as possible, as they cannot live for very long. So, I
> cooked them the same day, even though the use-by date was next
> Wednesday. I used a combination of a Rhineland recipe, with onions,
> garlic and juniper berries, and, in addition, sauce Poulette with egg
> yolks and crème fraîche (a very nice but expensive d'Isigny brand). The
> cooking liquid resulted in a very tasty broth.
>
> Mussels
>
> 2 large egg yolks
> 12.5 cl (1/2 cup) crème fraîche
> 1 kg (2.2 pounds) fresh mussels
> 1 medium-sized onion, finely minced
> 59 g (1.8 ounces) butter
> 2 cloves fresh, still soft garlic, finely minced
> 1 fresh bay leaf
> 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
> 5 juniper berries
> 250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine (Sauvignon blanc in this case)
> 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
> 1 teaspoon salt

Sounds tasty. The only mussels I can get around here are frozen.
--
Peace! Om

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." -- Dalai Lama

Janet Baraclough wrote:
>
> Thanks Victor that sounds wonderful. In summer we pick fresh wild
> mussels here.

Around here, the beaches are posted with warnings
that the mussels may be toxic. It's certainly
true that mussels and clams may be rendered toxic
by blooms of certain species of toxic algae,
such as the ones that create "red tide". But I've
never heard of a red tide or a bloom of toxic
algae around here. I suspect the signs are more
to protect the ecosystem than the public.

Janet Baraclough > wrote:

> In summer we pick fresh wild mussels here.

Not in the "R" months?

Victor