Mussels In Wine Broth

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1 kg live mussels
• 125 g unsalted butter
• 3 small round shallots, finely chopped
• 1 medium red chili pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped
• 500 ml wine
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 lemon, zest of
• sea salt
• ground black pepper
• fresh parsley, finely chopped

Recipe

• 1 just before cooking ~.
• 2 give the mussels a good scrub and rinse to remove any excess grit, make sure that they have already had their beards trimmed (if not then trim the beards with a pair of sharp scissors.) the mussels should be firmly closed. if any are open, give them a tap and see if they close. if they do not close, discard them.
• 3 using a large pot, melt the butter over a low heat. add the shallots, garlic, chilie, and salt (optional.) cook gently until the onions, garlic and chilie are softened. this could take up to 5 minutes or more. be careful to watch closely at this stage making sure the butter or the onions do not start to brown. they must be translucent.
• 4 add the wine and zest and increase the heat. boil until reduced by half. doing this makes a rich broth. add the mussels and season lightly with pepper. stir and then cover the pot with a lid.
• 5 after 2 minutes check the dish. remove the mussels that have opened and transfer to serving bowl. keep cooking the mussels in the pot still at a boil, removing them as they open. if there are any mussels that will not open discard them.
• 6 pour the broth over the bowl of mussels, sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley.
• 7 serve mussels in separate bowls with a good serving of broth, a wedge of lemon and a slice of thick crusty bread.
• 8 notes.
• 9 when you get the mussels home, remove them from any plastic and place the mussels in a bowl (this helps them to breathe.) cover them with a clean, damp tea towel or cloth and refrigerate. kept this way they should keep for two days.