Goan-style crunchy chorizo mussels

“This is a great starter to have when you have people coming around for dinner. You can assemble the mussels during the day and refrigerate them, then pop them under the grill just before you’re ready to serve. They’re super delicious and very easy.” Anjum Anand, Anjum's Australian Spice Stories

Credit: Anjum’s Australian Spice Stories

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ¼ tsp brown mustard seeds
• 8 fresh curry leaves, shredded or torn
• 1 French eschallot, finely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 50 ml dry white wine
• 200 g local black mussels (the bigger the better), de-bearded
• 1 heaped tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 15 g chorizo, finely chopped
• small handful finely chopped coriander
• 1 small piece bread, toasted and roughly crumbled

Instructions

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and once they start popping, add the curry leaves, eschallot and season lightly. Cook until the eschallot is soft and colouring at the edges. Add the wine and bring to the boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook for 3 minutes or just until the mussels have opened. Remove from the heat, add the butter and vinegar and shake the pan to combine.

Preheat the grill to medium high. Lightly scrunch up a piece of foil and use it to line a baking tray (this helps keep the mussels steady so their precious juices don’t spill out).

Once the mussels are cool enough to handle, pull off the top shells and place the open mussels in their shells on the foil lined baking tray. Spoon a little sauce over the mussels, then scatter a little chorizo and coriander over the top. Sprinkle with crumbled bread, drizzle with a little extra sauce, then grill for 2 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and they are hot. Serve immediately.

Anjum's Australian Spice Stories starts Monday 4 April 2016 on Food Network Australia. Visit the program page for recipes and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.