Moules Marinieres

Moules Marinieres

Moules Marinieres is a very simple classic French dish where mussels in cooked in white wine, onions, herbs with a hint of cream.  This is very popular in French Brassieres especially when mussels are in season.

In Philippines we have a nearly similar dish but the cream is omitted and ginger is added, using wine is optional as well.  Water or stock is used all the time as the flavours of the shellfish are strong enough to give it a great taste.

In this recipe the type of mussel I suggest are the black ones you see in the Mediterranean as they taste really good, it is comparable to the small green mussels in the Philippines, its small but very flavourful.   If the Philippine mussels is easily available I suggest it as an alternative as it tastes great and very affordable but people must eat it with caution as it is common to have red tide in the Philippines, which will make you sick.  Apparently for this recipe we will be using the New Zealand mussels as that?s the only available mussels here in the Supermarket.  This mussel type is like a giant version of the Philippine mussels, they have the same shell colour but slightly bland in taste compared to the two mentioned above. It also has thinner shell compared to the black ones, so you will get more meat per kilogram.  But regardless of the mussel type this dish is really flavourful, best enjoyed with piece of bread or chips/French fries and white wine, so if you are craving for that seafood taste you will definitely get it here.

Ingredients

1.5 kg Mussels

150 ml white wine

100 ml water

50 ml cream

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

50g butter

2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp rubbed thyme, finely chopped

freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In a pot melt butter in low heat, once melted bring heat to medium then sauté garlic and onions.

2. Now add the mussels together with the white wine, water, parsley and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer until all mussels are opened.

3. Add cream and simmer for 3 more minutes.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.