There are many ways to cook mussels and you can play around with the basic recipe to suite your own individual taste.This recipe is in fact Marinières.

Ingredients

2 lbs Fresh live mussels, cleaned and debearded

1 Medium sized onion, sliced thinly

2 Cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Cup dry white wine

Method

You will need a large saucepan with a lid. Place this over medium heat and add the olive oil and heat gently for about half a minute. Add the onions and garlic and cook slowly until the onions start to turn soft, stirring occasionally.

Then add the wine and bring to the boil. When it is boiling add the mussels and bring back to the boil. When it is boiling put on the lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until all of the mussels are open. Any longer than this then the mussels will start to get chewey.

Spoon out the mussels to individual serving dishes pouring some of the juice over the top and serve.

Makes enough for 4 people.

Notes

• Mussels from Prince Edward Island are best because they are usually only medium in size and very tasty.
• Most mussels you buy today have already been cleaned and debearded, but best to check them anyway. It’s best not to scrub them as this dislodges the color which will make the liquid grey in color.
• It should not be necessary to add salt as the mussels themselves are probably slightly salty. Add pepper for a bit of bite.
• If you like it herb flavored then add a bay leaf and some fresh thyme when adding the wine.
• Choose wine to your taste.
• Adding a can of chopped tomatoes at the same time as the wine will give it a different flavor.
• Some people like it spicy. If that’s you then add some crushed pepper at the same time as the wine.
• Eat them the European way by using a mussel shell as pincers.

Leftovers – Excellent Mussel Soup

If you have any left over take the mussels out of their shells and add them to any left over sauce. Add vegetable, chicken or fish stock and bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Then take the pan off the heat and using a hand blender blend all the contents to a consistent texture. Place pan back on the heat, add salt and pepper to taste and bring it to the boil once again and serve.