Mussels: An Inexpensive Route to a Romantic Dinner

Are you inviting your new sweetie over for a private dinner at your place?  Fresh mussels steamed in a fragrant broth of white wine, shallots and fresh herbs is seduction in a bowl.  Best of all, it just might be the least expensive romantic meal you’ll ever cook.

Most mussels available for sale (and served in restaurants) in New York City are farmed mussels from Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) in Canada.  The current pricing around the city for these shell fish is about $3-$3.25 per pound.  The P.E.I. mussels will work fine for this recipe, but If you’ve ever had mussels in Europe you might have noticed that they tend to be smaller and more delicately flavored, that’s because they’re wild instead of farmed.  Lucky for us, Alex and Stephanie Villani of Blue Moon Fish sell wild mussels from the Shinnecock Bay in Long Island at several of New York City’s Greenmarkets.  Best of all, the price is currently $2.50 per pound — yes that’s right, they’re cheaper and they taste better.  The Shinnecock Bay mussels are usually in season from May to July but depending on the temperature of the water they can be available through the autumn as well.  Let’s everyone hope this cool weather we’ve been having continues, okay?

Not only is the flavor of these mussels superior to the farmed variety, they’re also fresher.  Stephanie Villani told me they’re harvested in the afternoon of the day before you see them in the farmers’ market.  This means they have an abundance of “liquor,” the briny liquid inside the mussel that gets released into the pot when cooking, giving your dish a rich oceanic flavor.  You’ll find the folks from Blue Moon Fish on Saturdays in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, and Washington Market Park in TriBeCa and on Wednesdays in Union Square.

Start with a nice green salad, serve the mussels with a crusty baguette for dipping in that zippy broth, and a light dry white wine.  For dessert, do what the French do, go to the best bakery you know and buy something chocolate.

This will get your romantic evening off to a great start, the rest is up to you!

Don’t be intimidated by cooking shell fish at home.  Really, it’s not as hard as you think.  Here are some important things to remember:

1.  The mussels must be fresh.  They will keep for 1 day in the refrigerator, but really you should cook them the same day you buy them.  If you need to store them, fill a baking dish with ice, put the mussels on the ice, cover the dish with a clean wet kitchen towel, and place the dish in the refrigerator.  Check the dish towel occasionally to be sure it is still wet.  Do not seal mussels in plastic, they are alive and need to breathe.

2.  Depending on where you buy your mussels you may have to trim the tufts of hair or “beards” that you’ll find at the side of the shell.  This is quite simply done with a sharp knife.

3.  Inspect your mussels carefully before cooking.  They should all be firmly closed or they should close up when you tap the shell.  If a mussel stays open, discard it.

4.  Before cooking, soak your mussels in a bowl of water for about an hour.  As they “breathe” they expel any sand that may be inside them.  When finished soaking, remove the mussels from the bowl carefully so as not to disturb the sand which will have fallen to the bottom of the bowl.  Finally, rinse the mussels one more time in fresh water, scrubbing their outsides with a brush to remove any other sand and they’re ready for the pot.

Steamed Mussels in White Wine

Adapted from Julia Child

Serves 2

1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup minced shallots
4 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper (white pepper is nice here if you have it)
3 Tbs. butter
3 pounds mussels, cleaned and soaked (see above)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Add first 6 ingredients to a large heavy bottomed pot (use a pot large enough to give the mussels plenty of room).  Put the pot over medium-high heat and bring the contents to a boil.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.

Add the mussels to the pot, cover it and turn the heat to high.  The mussels will cook in about 5 minutes.  If you can lift the pot, do so, shaking it (with the lid on) several times during the cooking process, this helps the mussels move around so they all get the same amount of heat.  If you can’t lift your pot then uncover it and quickly stir a couple of times during the cooking, replacing the lid as quickly possible.  After 5 minutes of cooking begin to check the mussels.  Scoop out the ones that are open (which will be most of them at this point) and put them in a hot dish to keep them warm.  If any mussels are not open, cover the pot for another minute or two and cook them further until they open.  If you get to 7 or 8 minutes and you still have mussels that haven’t opened, discard them.

Serve the mussels in shallow soup bowls with the cooking liquid ladled over them, sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Photo by Flickr user ViZZual.com

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