In the 6.5 years(!!!) I’ve had this blog, I’ve cooked in four different kitchens, not counting my parents’ or friends’ homes. Welcome to kitchen number FIVE, part of the adorable studio I moved into three weeks ago.
I would have never called my last kitchen “spacious,” but the half-galley style meant I at least had a bunch of cabinets and one large-ish counter. Kitchen 5.0 features two cabinets, a cute, completely hacked together little pantry, some clutch wire-rack shelving, and one tiny little half-counter from where I must do all of my prepwork from now on. Less space = more challenge, to which I say bring it.
Also bring me recipes that require minimal prepping please? Still getting the hang of cooking with no space, but thankfully, it’s been too hot to cook anything major so there’s been some one-bowl pasta salads (olives instead of anchovies + cubes of ricotta salata mamma mia!), a zucchini and lentil salad that I can’t wait to tell you about and then these mussels. These glorious glorious mussels, which bathe in a broth of all my favorite things: butter, wine, Dijon mustard and cream, enhanced by a smattering of garlic and shallots and then topped with a (in my case, very) generous handful of fresh parsley.
The best part of these mussels Dijonnaise: they’re a cinch to make, but feel oh-so-fancy to eat, as if you’ve transported yourself to a Paris bistro and are sitting on a twinkly-lit cobblestone street instead of at your kind-of-unpacked dining table, boxes shoved underneath and to the side, watching the Olympics in a heat-induced daze. And since the recipe is almost fool-proof, these mussels are great for impressing bae on date night*, and as far as seafood goes, relatively inexpensive. Très bien!
*Instead of making these mussels for bae, I ate two pounds of mussels BY MYSELF, and then rubbed in bae’s face how good they were when he got home. #relationshipgoals?
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PinIngredients
- 1 2-pound bag mussels
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium-sized shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- loaf of crusty baguette, french fries (to serve)
Instructions
- Clean the mussels: remove them from the bag and place them in a large bowl of very cold water. Let sit for 10 minutes to loosen sand and grit. (This is a great time to cut your onions and garlic.)
- Rinse the mussels under cold water and remove any beards (that hairy thing) that are still attached by pulling it towards the hinge and outward. Discard any mussels with broken shells or that are open already.
- Melt the butter in a large pot on medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until they have softened.
- Add the mussels, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, thyme, white wine and cream. Cover the pot tightly and steam for 5 minutes, shaking halfway to redistribute the mussels. All of the mussels should be opened.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a serving bowl. Increase the heat slightly and continue cooking the sauce for one minute, removing the bay leaf. Whisk in the mustard and cook for an additional minute. (Do not boil.)
- Season the sauce to taste, then spoon it over the mussels. Top with the parsley, then serve with lots of crusty bread and french fries.
Notes
- A buttery chardonnay is excellent here, since its richness matches the richness of the butter and cream in the sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
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