Steamed Mussels With Leek Thyme And White Wine Food

MUSSELS WITH WHITE WINE AND LEEK

Steps:

• Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add in the leeks and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 7 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking, while stirring, for 1 minute more.
• Drop in the mussels and stir the ingredients together gently until combined. Add the wine and thyme sprigs, cover the pan and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the cream, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes or until the mussels open.
• Serve with lots of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH LEEKS, THYME & BACON

Steps:

• Scrub and de-beard the mussels. Heat half the butter in a pan, then sizzle the bacon for 3-4 mins until starting to brown. Add the leeks and thyme, then sweat everything together for 4-5 mins until soft. Turn the heat up high, add the mussels and cider or wine, then cover and cook for 4-5 mins, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels have opened. Discard any that don't open. Scoop the mussels and the other bits into a dish, then place the pan back on the heat. Boil the juices for 1 min with the rest of the butter, then pour over the mussels and serve with crusty bread.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH WHITE WINE AND PARSLEY

Steps:

• Wash and sort the mussels, pulling off any pieces of protruding beard. Combine the wine, shallots, bay leaf, and thyme in a 10-quart pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the mussels, cover the pot, and turn the heat up to high. When steam starts to shoot out from under the lid, turn the heat back down to medium. Leave the pot on the heat for 5 minutes more. Leave the lid on the pot and holding down the lid with a kitchen towel- shake pot to redistribute the mussels. Put the pot back on the heat for 2 minutes more. Take off the lid and check to see if all the mussels have opened. If not, replace the lid and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the lid, wait a minute for the steam to dissipate, scoop the mussels out of the pot with a large spoon or skimmer, and place them in hot bowls, discarding any unopened mussels. If the liquid in the bottom of the pan is sandy, carefully pour it into a clean saucepan, leaving any sand or grit behind. Add the chopped parsley to the hot broth, whisk in the butter if desired, and season with pepper. Heat the broth for a 1 or 2 minutes and ladle it over the hot mussels. Serve slices of crusty bread at the table.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH WHITE WINE AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Clean mussels. In large pot heat wine. Add garlic, onion, and parsley. Bring to a boil and add mussels. Cover and steam until mussels open. Serve with Italian bread.

MUSSELS WITH LEEKS AND WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Scrub the mussels really well and remove their stringy beards. Chuck out any mussels that are damaged in any way or that are open and don't close when tapped on the side of the sink.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or saute pan - you need something with a lid - over a low heat. Very gently fry the leeks and garlic for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured, stirring occasionally. There's no need to cover the pan. Add a little water to the pan if the leeks start to stick before they are softened.
• Pour over the white wine and stir in the creme fraiche and parsley. Add the mussels, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes or until all the mussels have steamed open, stirring once. Give the pan a good shake now and again. Mix the cornflour and water together to make a thin paste.
• Remove the pan from the heat and tip the mussels and their liquor into a colander over a large bowl. Throw away any that haven't opened, then divide the mussels between two warmed wide bowls.
• Tip the mussel liquor back into the pan and stir in the cornflour paste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, stirring until thickened. Add a bit more salt and pepper to taste and pour the sauce back over the mussels in the bowls.
• Serve each bowl of mussels with a thick slice of crusty bread for mopping up the sauce. Heaven!

STEAMED MUSSELS II

Steps:

• In a medium stock pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent.
• Pour in wine and mussels. Raise heat to medium/high and steam mussels until shells open, about 5 minutes.
• Pour mussels and cooking liquid into a serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.