Quick-blitz mirepoix mussels
Servings: 4
Mussels give great bang for shuck (!!), are super sustainable, helping to cleanse coastlines and waterways as they grow and feed, and are infinitely versatile as far as flavour combos go. I’m using a classic mirepoix flavour base here, as you’d expect for any soup or stew, but another mussel advantage is that they cook so fast and release such a flavoursome broth as they do that even if you did use water over stock, or swapped out vegetables that you didn’t have (or in what you had – like parsley or celeriac), you’re guaranteed a good time, in no time. You’ll basically have dinner on the table as quickly as you can blitz. If you have a local grocer who makes their own raw soup veg mixes, I’m cool with you picking up a tub to save even more time, then just whack that in the food processor for a pulse instead.To prep, grab onto the overhanging beard and pull it around the shell towards the hinge. The beard should snap right off. You shouldn’t need to rinse too heavily in preparation for the pot, as most commercially farmed mussels are kept relatively tidy for on-sale, but a vegetable scrubbing brush to scrape off any stubborn barnacles under a running tap will do plenty. Some people say “never eat a mussel that doesn’t open,” but I’d use your senses before chucking – if it smells a-ok and looks right, give it a whirl. To check if mussels are fresh before cooking, press the semi-shut shell between thumb and forefinger; if it then proceeds to continue to move like a soft-close drawer, you know it’s good to go.
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling
- 25 g butter
- 1 brown onion peeled and quartered
- 1 celery rib roughly chopped
- ½ fennel roughly chopped, reserving the fennel fronds for the top
- 1 medium carrot washed and roughly chopped
- 2 large kipfler potatoes washed and roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- Pinch of sugar
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup (250ml) good quality vegetable stock or water
- 2 kg mussels cleaned and debearded
- ½ cup parsley roughly chopped
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- Crusty bread and butter to serve
Instructions
- Grab your food processor and add in the onion, celery and fennel. Pulse together until roughly chopped.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil and butter in a large, lidded heavy-based pan on medium heat until they’re foamy and friendly. Add in the onion, celery and fennel mix, pop the lid on and let the veg sweat on low-medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While cooking, pop the carrot, potato and garlic in the food processor (no need to have cleaned), and pulse until roughly chopped. Then add these along with the bay leaves and sugar to the pan and cook until you can smell the garlic, about three to four minutes. You want all of the vegetables to soften and smell heavenly (if they’re starting to brown, splash in a tablespoon of water and drop the heat a little).
- Once everything is sufficiently softened, splosh in the white wine and crank the heat to cook off the alcohol and reduce the liquid by half. Add the stock and 1 cup of water. Cook down the liquid on a medium-high heat until the carrots and potatoes are tender but not falling apart – about 10 more minutes.
- Drain the mussels of any excess juice and tip the lot into the screaming hot pan, they will instantly release more juice to make a deliciously deep and briny broth. Place the lid on and shake the pan occasionally for 4-5 minutes or until all of the mussels open.
