Starters
Mussels cooked with cream, chorizo, garlic and flat-leaf parsley
Ingredients
- 1kg mussels
- 2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 60g chorizo, diced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 100ml single cream
- 100ml white wine
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
- Start by prepping the mussels. The shells should be tightly shut and if not, should promptly close if you tap them with your finger. If they do not close, they are not alive and should be discarded. Wild mussels will have a ‘beard’, which is a clump of fibres they use to navigate and attach themselves to rocks on the seabed. Before cooking, this beard will have to be removed. To do this, give the beard a sharp tug and pull it towards the hinge of the mussel before discarding.
- Next, rinse the mussels in cold water to remove any sand, and, using a knife, carefully scrape off any barnacles.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the garlic, chorizo and shallots. Cover and leave to sweat for three minutes. Turn the heat up to high and stir in the cream and white wine, followed by the mussels. Stir well, cover and cook for approximately 6-8 minutes. After this time, the shells should have opened, which means they are cooked. Discard any mussels whose shells have not opened.
- Finish by sprinkling the chopped parsley over the mussels and stirring once more to bring all the flavours together.
- Divide the mussels between two warmed bowls and pour over the remaining sauce.
