Fennel risotto with 'nduja & mussels

For ➋

1 kg mussels

olive oil

1 fennel

1 shallot, shredded

2 cloves garlic, crushed into a purée

1 tbs 'nduja

200 g risotto rice

15 cl white wine

60 cl warm (vegetable) stock

knob of butter

15 g flat parsley, shredded

Rinse the mussels thoroughly. Heat some oil in a large pan and cook the mussels under a lid for about 5 m, or until the shells are just open. Turn the mussels halfway through the cooking time. Pour the mussel liquid through a fine sieve and keep it. Keep the mussels warm.

Remove the hard core of the fennel and cut it into small pieces.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté the shallot for 2 m before adding the crushed garlic. Stew 1 m further. Add the fennel and stir-fry for 5 m and mix in the 'nduja. After 2 m, pour the rice into the pot. Stir-fry for 2 m, deglaze with the white wine and about 15 cl of the sieved mussel liquid. 

Let it boil before adding a ladle of hot stock. 

Stir until the stock is completely absorbed and add another ladle. Repeat until the rice is al dente, about 20 m.

Remove the mussels from their shells and keep warm.

Mix a good knob of butter and most of the flat-leaf parsley through the risotto. Add half of the mussels and gently mix into the risotto. 

Divide the risotto among plates or on a serving platter and garnish with the remaining mussels and flat-leaf parsley.

Spaghetti alle cozze (spaghetti with mussels)

For ➍

2 kg fresh mussels 

3 cloves garlic 

15 g fresh flat parsley 

300 g spaghetti 

3 tbs traditional olive oil

15 cl white wine

425 g canned diced tomatoes

1 ts chilli flakes

Rinse the mussels under cold running water. Remove the mussels that are broken or left open when you tap them. Drain. Cut the garlic into slices. Remove the parsley leaves from the sprigs. Finely chop the leaves and sprigs, but keep them separate from each other. 

Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the instructions on the package. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the garlic 1 m. Add the chopped parsley sprigs and fry 1 m. 

Turn up the heat and add the mussels. Add the white wine and let it steam for a while. Add the polpa and chilli flakes and toss well with a large spoon. Put the lid on the pan and let the mussels stew for 3 m, until all the shells are open. 

Drain the pasta and toss through the mussels. Add half of the chopped parsley leaves. Let it cook for another 2 m on low heat, until the pasta has absorbed the sauce. 

Remove any empty shells. Sprinkle with the rest of the parsley.

Spanish mussels with Manchego & Serrano

For ➍
2 kg mussels
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs smoked paprika
½ ts peri peri
20 cl white wine
33 cl passata tomato frito
20 g flour
45 g Italian or Spanish ham s.a. Serrano
50 g Manchego
fresh flat-leaf parsley
juice 1 lemon
peanut oil

Rinse the mussels several times in cold water. Remove the beard.
Peel the garlic and onion. Squeeze the garlic. Cut 1 onion into rings and finely chop the other onion.
Heat some peanut oil in a mussel pot and fry the onion rings until translucent.
Add the mussels and deglaze with white wine. Bring to a boil under lid.
Shake up after a few m. Let it boil for another 2 m, or until the mussels open.
Remove from the heat and strain the mussels. Keep the mussel liquid.
Always remove the shell half to which the mussel is not attached.
Heat peanut oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion. Bake the smoked paprika powder and the periperi for 1 m while stirring. Add the flour and stir well. Add the passata.
Add 25 cl of mussel juice and let it boil for a few m.
Season with salt and lemon juice.
Reduce the heat after cooking time and add the mussels. Let them warm in the sauce for 1 m.
Finish with fine slices of ham, grated Manchego cheese and finely chopped parsley.
Serve with pasta, bread or rice.

Waterzooi met griet en witloof (Flemish fish stew with endives)

For ➍
2 carrots, cut into small cubes
1 leek, into small cubes
6 endives
50 g butter
1 l fish stock*
1 kg mussels**
400 g fillet of brill (or lemon sole)
2 egg yolks
2 dl cream
juice of ½ lemon
3 tbs chopped parsley
pepper & salt
100 g North Sea shrimps

Cut 4 endives into small cubes. Stew the vegetables in ¾ of the butter. Pour over the fish stock and let simmer for 20 m.
Cut the 2 other endives in half and simmer in the remaining butter.
Prepare the mussels and remove them from the shell. Beat the egg yolks into the cream and set aside. Cut the fillets into strips and poach them for 2 m in the soup. Scoop them out and divide among 4 warmed plates.
Do the same with the vegetables from the soup, baked chicory and mussels.
Add the egg mixture to the soup and bring to the boil, stirring. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and parsley.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour into the plates with the shrimp.

*Use less to have a less 'supy' dish.
**Omit and replace with more fish.

Fiskisupa (Nordic fish soup)

For ➍
700 g cod fillet
1 kg mussels
2 celery stalks
3 leek whites
¼ celeriac
2 onions
5 dl water
1 dl white wine
30 g butter
1 bay leaf
some sprigs of chives
pepper & salt
150 g samphire
5 dl chicken broth

Chop the leeks, cut the peeled celeriac into small cubes and chop 1 onion. Fry them 5 m on medium heat in a stew pan with the melted butter.
Add the stock, the water, the bay leaf, pepper and salt.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 m on low heat. Let rest 5 m, remove the bay leaf and mix finely.
Meanwhile, clean the mussels and put them in a small casserole with chopped celery and 1 chopped onion. Put the lid on the pan and cook the mussels on a high heat, until they open (± 5 m). Shake the pot occasionally. Pour the cooking liquid into a decanter, and pour it slowly into the soup.
Put the samphire and wine in a small sauté pan. Put the chopped cod on top of it, put the lid on the pan and heat gently. Remove from the heat as soon as the wine is boiling and leave to rest 5 m. Season with pepper and salt. [Just before serving, add a lick of cream and give another twist to the pepper mill.]*
Arrange the pieces of fish with the samphire and the mussels in deep plates, pour over the hot soup and serve immediately, sprinkled with chopped chives.

*Optional.

Mouclade charentaise (French mussels with Pineau)

For ➍
1.5 kg moules de bouchot*
1.5 shallot
½ clove garlic
½ bouquet garni
15 cl Pineau des Charentes**
30 g butter
3.5 g curry powder (or curry paste)
½ egg yolk
65 g double cream
½ bush flat parsley

Remove the threads between the mussels, then wash in two baths of cold salted water. Keep them cold.
Wash and pluck the parsley, then chop finely.
Peel and chop the shallots. Crush the garlic with the palm of the hand.
Melt the butter in a casserole. Add the shallots, the crushed garlic clove and bouquet garni. Once the shallots are translucent, add the Pineau.
Put the mussels in the pot, cover and increase heat. Then cook for 2 m. Stop cooking from the time the mussels are open.
Filter the mussel juice, add curry and reduce by ⅓. Arrange the mussels in their lower shells in a baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Mix the egg yolks and cream. Mix with the mussel juice without bringing it to a boil. Add chopped parsley and adjust the seasoning.
Pour over the mussels, then bake at 200°C for 4 m.
Serve immediately.

*Use North Sea mussels instead.
*Use white wine instead.

Moules de bouchot de la baie du Mont Saint-Michel au cidre (French mussels Mont Saint-Michel way)

For ➍
2 kg moules de bouchot*
6 dl Normandy cider (or white wine)
3 red onions, finely chopped (or shallots)
3 cups finely chopped parsley
60 g flour
60 g unsalted butter
3 dl cream
pepper

Clean the mussels. Remove the threads between the mussels, then wash in 2 baths of cold salted water. Keep them cold.
Pour ½ of the cider into the pot, add the mussels and pepper, then cook over high heat. When the mussels are open, remove them from the pot and strain the mussel juice.
Reserve the juice and keep the mussels warm. Place the butter in a pan, then add the chopped onions, cook until they become golden. Add flour, stirring with a wooden spoon to avoid lumps, then gradually pour in the cooking juices, cider and reduce to ⅓.
Stir in the cream, stirring, parsley, make a broth and remove from heat.
Serve and top the mussels with the cream sauce.

*The 'moules de bouchot' are cultivated on wooden stakes planted in the sea to avoid predators. It produces small, delicious mussels. A shipwrecked Irish or Scott seems to have invented the poles to hunt birds in the 13th century, but when mollusks attached themselves to the wood, it became a better trade. It was widely spread along the French Atlantic coast, and was regulated in the late 17th century. After WWII, the production was reactivated in Vivier-sur-mer, and has become a main succes in Normandy, followed by new mussel fields on the Atlantic shores.

Sautéed mussels & chorizo

For ➍
4 tomatoes
1 shallot
1 kg of mussels
curry powder
piment d'Espelette or cayenne pepper
olive oil
salt & pepper
150 g chorizo
fresh herbs: basil, parsley etc.

Cut the tomatoes into brunoise and chop the shallot. Cut the chorizo into sticks.
Heat a pan with olive oil until it is very hot. Add the mussels, chorizo, shallots and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Season with the curry and cayenne pepper or piment d'Espelette.
Bake for a few m.
Add the chopped herbs. Serve with good bread.

Moules de bouchot 'poulette' (Mussels in 'chicken' sauce)

For ➍
1.5 kg mussels per person
200 g of celery
200 g carrots
2 large onions
2 stalks (white) leek
2 stalks thyme
½ bay leaf
10-20 cl olive oil
cube poultry stock
2 cl white wine
6 cloves garlic
1 handful parsley
2 dl cream

Cut celery,carrots and onions into cubes.
Chop white leek, thyme branches bay leaf fine.
Heat olive oil. Add celery,carrots, onions, white leek, thyme branches bay leaf. Sayté without browning.
Add 1 l of water and a cube of chicken stock. Let it boil until ¾ remains. Add 2 cl white wine.
Mix cloves of garlic, parsley and 1 cup olive oil into a paste.
Throw the mussels in the pan. Add the parsley-garlic paste. Then add 2 dl cream.
Serve with a bread.

Along the French Atlantic coast, mussels are cultivated on bouchots, wooden stakes, rather than on the sandy sea-bottom. Altough it is the same variety as in Zeeland, they contain no sand, and are generally a little bit smaller than their Dutch family.

Mussels & cider

For ➋
glug of olive oil
a medium-sized onion, peeled and chopped
a fresh bay leaf
½ ts whole black peppercorns, roughly crushed
2 cloves of garlic, whole, unpeeled
500 g of mussels
25 cl medium or dry cider
crusty bread, to serve

Heat the oil in a large, flat pan and fry the onion with the bay leaf, crushed peppercorns and garlic. Thoroughly wash the mussels, discarding any that are heavy, broken or that remain open when tapped.
Add the cider to the pan and bring it to a gentle boil. Add the mussels, cover the pan tightly with a lid and steam for 2-3 m, or until the mussel shells start to open. (Discard any mussels whose shells remain closed.)
Serve in bowls with bread to mop up the lovely broth.

Almejas Al Jerez (Spanish clams in sherry)

For ➍
1 kg small clams or mussels, cleaned* & rinsed
½ medium yellow or white onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 tbs olive oil
12-17 cl dry sherry
4-6 tbs fresh flat leaf parsley
1 medium lemon (optional)

Peel and chop the onion and finely chop the parsley. Peel and slice the garlic. Pour olive oil into a large (20-25 cm) frying pan and heat on medium. When oil is hot, sauté the onion and garlic until it just turns brown. Add the sherry and half of the chopped parsley, cooking for 2-3 m.
Add the clams to the frying pan, and stir. Cover and simmer on low for about 4 m. Clams should open as cooking. Discard any clams that do not open.
Divide the clams and sauce between 4 plates. Sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley. Squeeze lemon juice over top of each plate (optional).
Serve hot as a tapa with warm crusty bread to soak up the sherry sauce and chopped onions.

*Put in a plastic bag with salted water to remove sand.

Read the related mussels with sherry recipe.

Spicy mussels with fennel & tomatoes

For ➋-➍*
1 small fennel bulb
1 small yellow onion
1 carrot
3 cloves garlic
2 small tomatoes
12 large fresh basil leaves
1 ts black peppercorns**
½ ts fennel seeds**
½ ts sea salt**
⅛ ts red pepper flakes**
3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
20 cl dry white wine***
1 kg mussels, cleaned

Trim the stalks from the fennel. Core and cut the fennel into 0.5 cm slices. Put the fennel into a large bowl. Cut the onion into 0.5 cm semicircles and add to the bowl. Peel the carrot and cut into 0.5 cm dice and add to the bowl. Peel and mince the garlic and add to the bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half. Squeeze out the seeds. Cut them into 0.5 cm dice and put in a separate bowl. Cut the basil into chiffonade and reserve for the garnish.
Lightly crush the peppercorns and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle. Add the salt and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, carrot, and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 m. Stir in the spice mixture. Add the wine and the tomatoes along with any juices in the bowl. Bring to a boil.
Add the mussels to the pot, cover, and steam until the mussels open, about 5 m.
Scoop the mussels into individual shallow bowls, discarding any that remain closed. Spoon some vegetables and stock over them, even making it liquid as a soup. Sprinkle each bowl with basil and serve immediately with bread (or pasta).

*For ➋ as main course, for ➍ as starter or soup***.
**Or just use salt & pepper.
***Use less wine when serving as a starter or main course: the fennel and tomatoes will give liquid as well.

Read the related Provençal mussels with pastis, fennel and tomatoes recipe.

Moules provençales (Mussels with fennel & pastis)

For ➍
2 kg large mussels, well washed
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed & peeled
1 fennel bulb (about 500 g), trimmed & thinly sliced
2 tbs fennel seeds
10 cl pastis (or 4 whole star anise)
50 g chopped tomatoes* (canned are fine, drained first)
1 sprig fresh tarragon*

Place the oil in a large pot and turn the heat to medium. 1 m later, add the garlic, fennel, fennel seeds, pastis, tomatoes* and tarragon*. Bring to a boil, cook for about 1 m. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and turn the heat to high.
Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the mussels open, 5 to 10 m.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the mussels and fennel to a serving bowl, then strain any liquid over them and serve.

*Optional.

Read the related mussels with fennel and tomatoes recipe, or the pastis-free version. Try more Provençal recipes: original tuna salad, fresh tuna & salade niçoise, salade niçoise dressing, Provençal garlic sauce, Saint-Tropez chicken, garlic sauce, Provençal tomato sauce

Mediterranean mussels @ wok

For ➋
2 kg mussels
1 orange
1 small fennel bulb
3 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbs Italian herbs, chopped

Check and clean the mussels. Scrub the orange clean and grate 2 ts orange peel from it. Cut the fennel into small cubes, keep the green stems apart.

Heat oil in a wok and stir fry the garlic and fennel for 2 m. Stir the orange zest in, add the herbs and grind some black pepper over it.

Put the mussels in the pan. Stir gently over high heat until they are all open.

With a slotted spoon, put the mixture of mussels, fennel and garlic in 2 large bowls.

Boil the cooking liquid over high heat for 5 m. Pour over the mussels.

Serve with ciabatta and a crisp mixed salad.

*Read tip on using ginger/ garlic in wok.

Zeeuwse mossels (Belgian or Zeelandic mussels)

For ➋
2 kg North Sea mussels with shells
2 carrots, sliced
1 leek, sliced
2 onions, sliced
salt & pepper
50 cl blond beer*
1 tbs parsley
20 g butter
1 tbs water

Rinse the mussels. Discard all open mussels.

Take a large recipient, put it on heat. Melt the butter. Sauté the leek, onion rings, carrots and parsley with 1 tbs of water. Add mussels. Add pepper. Add beer.

The mussels are ready when they open their clams. Discard all closed mussels immediately.

Serve with rye bread and butter (or, in a Belgian way, with frites and a good blond beer or a fresh pinot blanc).

*In Holland , you could buy the special mussel-beer. Or use Belgian pils(ener) like Maes or Stella Artois. Replace with water (or half of it), if you must. You could use a Belgian white wheat beer or a Luxembourg pinot blanc white wine. Use a Belgian lambic (old gueuze) beer for a fresh taste. Obviously, have a lambic to drink as well.

For a very long time, until the separation of the Low Countries in the 16th century, Zeeuws Vlaanderen, now part of the Holland province of Zeeland, belonged to the county of Flanders, and has remained culturally close to its former neighbour. It is the center of a weird Belgian mussel cult, as most Zeeland mussels are exported to Belgium. (Due to extreme pollution, it was impossible to breed the historic North Sea mussel on the Belgian Coast until recent years.). Wherever they come from, moules aux frites, mussels with frites, is a Belgian national dish.
La grande casserole de moules ('The great mussels' pot'), consisting of a painted mussels' pot and real mussels' shells, is one of the iconic works of Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers of the influential post-war Groupe Surréaliste-Révolutionaire. A widely publicized public fund-raising was organised to prevent the work being sold to an American museum. It is now exposed at the Ghent museum of modern art SMAK. A variant of it, Casserole et moules fermées ('Pot with closed mussels'), has been acquired by the London Tate Gallery.
Read more gueuze and Belgian beer recipes.

Baked mussels with garlic

For ➋
500 g cooked mussels without shells
2 chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, crushed
sea salt & freshly ground pepper
curry powder
butter
olive oil

Drain the mussels at room temperature.
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic and onion until soft.
Add a little butter and curry powder to taste and fry briefly.
Add the mussels and brown them quickly browned. Cook for 4-5 m.
Grind some pepper over and sprinkle with sea salt.
Serve with good brown bread.

Mussels & sherry @ wok

For ➋-➍*
2 kg mussels
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 red pepper
3 tbs olive oil
1 ts dried thyme
1 dl dry sherry, at room temperature
200 g firm tomatoes, cut & drained

Rinse the mussels. Cut the onion, the garlic and the pepper in small chunks.
Heat the oil in the wok. Fry the vegetables for 2 m. Add thyme. Add mussels. Sprinkle sherry. Add tomatoes. Fry on high heat until all mussels are open, about 3-5 m.

Serve with warm brown bread. And a very dry sherry at room temperature.

*For ➍ as a starter.

Read the related clams in sherry tapa recipe.

Wine steamed mussels

For ➍
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs onions, finely chopped
1 tbs celery, finely chopped
1 tbs carrots, finely chopped
2 medium shallots, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped
1½ ts teaspoons fresh, chopped thyme
1½ ts fresh, chopped parsley
1½ ts fresh, chopped sage
½ ts salt
¼ ts ground black pepper
50 cl dry white wine
1 kg mussels, cleaned*

In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil and sauté the onions, carrots, celery, shallots, and garlic until they are just tender, about 5 m. Add the thyme, parsley, sage, salt, and pepper to the vegetables and cook for 1 m. Add the white wine to the skillet and bring it to a gently simmer. Add the mussels to the wine sauce, turn the heat up a bit, cover, and steam the mussels for 5 m, or until the mussels open. Serve the mussels hot with the wine sauce.

Serve with frites or slices of baguette bread.

*For a Belgian main dish, 1 kg mussels per person would be expected. Use several skillets to cook them in. Fill the skillets for ⅔, leaving room for the mussels to open their shells.

North Sea risotto

For ➍
500 g North Sea mussels, cleaned
200 g North Sea shrimps, cooked & shelled
1 small onion
1¼ l fish stock
15 g butter
2 ts olive oil
400 g risotto rice
pepper
100 g pesto*

Chop the onion very fine. Bring the broth to a simmer.

Heat 15 g of butter with the olive oil. Fry the onion 10 m at a very low heat without browning.

Add rice, reduce heat slightly, stir until the grains glisten.

Add the stock, stirring the risotto and cook for 20-25 m over low heat until the liquid is used. Stir occasionally.

For the last 10 m, add the mussels and allow them to cook until the shells are open. Remove the pan from the heat.

Stir the shrimp and pesto through the risotto. Let the risotto rest with the lid on the pan for 3 m.

Serve the risotto in warmed deep plates. A green salad will suit it well.

*Replace with freshly chopped flat parsley.

Read quick risotto tip.

Moules provençales (mussels with tomatoes, basil & garlic)

For ➍
2 kg fresh mussels*
2 tbs French olive oil
10 cherry tomatoes
4 sliced shallots
4 sliced spring onions
2 tbs chopped fresh basil
3 cloves crushed garlic
3 tbs chili sauce
salt & freshly ground pepper
4 tbs tomato sauce**
1 tbs chopped fresh celery

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan.

Fry the shallots and garlic (cover the pan).

Add the washed and drained mussels and close the pot with a lid. Shake the mussels and cook for 5 m or until all shells are open*. Season the mussels to taste with salt, pepper and fresh basil.

Add the tomato sauce, chili sauce, scallions and cherry tomatoes and heat them.

Divide the mixture between deep, preheated plates. Sprinkle with chopped celery leaves.

Serve with a warm baguette.

*Use 400 g pre-cooked mussels instead.
**Ready made or home made Provençal or home made Italian sauce. Or use concentrated tomatoes or tomato coulis.

Try more Provençal recipes: original tuna salad, fresh tuna & salade niçoise, salade niçoise dressing, Provençal garlic sauce, Saint-Tropez chicken, garlic sauce, Provençal tomato sauce, or the similar mussels with pastis recipe.