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© Copyright 1995-2023, Clay Irving <clay@panix.com>, Manhattan Beach, CA USA
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Recipe from: Quick Dinner Recipes
Servings: 4
As long as the name of the month has an "R" in it : means for us Belgians that theRe aRe fResh mussels aRound! This basic mussel-recipe is delicous when served with bread and the cooking-water of the mussels. Of course you can serve it with the authentic Belgian (french...) fries. Yes, we insist : we invented the fries, but we didn't give an english name to it...
4 pounds mussels
a lot of onions — at least 4, sliced
1 green celery, sliced
1 leek, slice into rings
2 carrots, sliced
a dash of vinegar, at most 3 fluid ounces (100 ml)
some butter to fry the onion
pepper, to taste
salt, to taste, about 1 teaspoon
Clean the mussels — the shells shoud be black and smooth, without any "beards' nor "crusty grey stuff". Put the mussels in a bucket of salted water, stir them around and leave them there for 1 and a half hour.
Take the mussels 1 by 1 out of the bucket. Press them between your thumb and fingers — any mussel that is open or opens has to be thrown away! We only want the mussels to be open after they are cooked. Drain the water in a colander.
Take a big and high pot and melt the butter. Add onions and the other vegetables and fry until the onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add the mussels on top, add salt and pepper and vinegar. Put the lid on the pot and cook on a low fire.
Check the mussels. If the mussels are well opened, they are ready. If the mussels are still closed, shake them around in the pot and put back on the low fire.
Serve the mussels with their cooking-liquid if you serve them with bread. It's just delicious to dip your bread in the cooking-water of the mussels!
Tips: