Mussels with White Wine & Cream

Recipe by Paul Phillips

According to a recent survey, moules marinière is the second most popular dish in France – and it’s also one of the easiest to cook. This version takes just 15 minutes from beginning to end and is absolutely delicious served with crusty bread to soak up the irresistibly intense sauce.

Prep time: 55 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

FOR THE MUSSELS:
2kg live mussels
40g unsalted butter
2 tbsp rapseed oil
1 large chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
3 sprigs of lemon thyme
150ml dry white wine
100ml double cream
15g parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1 lemon, zest plus 1tbsp juice
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
TO SERVE:
Crusty bread

Cooking Directions

Remove the beards from the mussels - you should be able to just pull these from the shells - and rinse in running water until it runs clear. Discard any mussels with damaged shells or any that do not close when tapped on a hard surface.
Meanwhile in a large saucepan soften the garlic, shallot and chilli in the oil and butter. Once softened, add the wine, lemon thyme and lemon zest. Reduce to a glaze.
Add the cream and lemon juice, then carefully add the mussels. Cover, turn up the heat to high and cook for 4 minutes.
Discard any mussels that have not opened. If you want to guarantee a grit-free sauce you can sieve this through a muslin, although this is not normally required for rope grown farmed mussels as they do not live in a sandy environment.
Take off the heat, add the parsley and season well. Serve with crusty bread.