The recipe serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a starter.
You need
- 50ml butter
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 chopped celery stick
- 4 finely chopped garlic cloves
- 500ml white wine
- 3 – 5 bay leaves
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1kg mussels scrubbed
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 120ml fresh cream
- 50ml fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan and cook the onion, celery and garlic until the onion has browned.
- Add the wine, bay leaves and thyme and bring to the boil. Add the mussels and cover tightly. Simmer over low heat for about 3 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time. Discard any mussels that do not open.
- Lift the mussels out of the pan and set aside, keeping them warm until needed.
- Strain the liquid into a clean pot, season and bring to the boil. Add the cream and reheat the sauce without boiling.
- Put the mussels into a big bowl, pour the sauce over and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with crusty ciabatta or French loaf. You could even serve them with French fries.
And afterwards?
- If you have time, make your mom’s favourite dessert and get the kids involved too.
- Serve a generous piece of Brie or Camembert with crackers and fresh seedless grapes and then bring out a platter of chocolate brownies or macaroons to have with coffee or tea.
- Make up a dessert board filled with sweet treats everyone loves. Think nougat, marshmallows. Smarties, chocolate balls and so on. You’ll find loads of ideas on Pinterest.