Two meal mussels

Mussels are a very affordable protein and so underutilized. This recipe takes advantage of the meat and the shells to create two different and delicious meals - one pot of mussels and one bowl of soup.

Two meal mussels by Ben Shewry. Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 140 ml olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 kg live black mussels
• 100 ml water
• 1 lemon

Soup

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch basil, leaves picked, stems reserved
• 1.3 litres water
• salt and black pepper
• natural yoghurt (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, or until until fragrant and not coloured.
2. Add the mussels with the water and cover. Cook for 3-4 minutes, gently shaking the pan occasionally or until the mussels start to open. Mussels are easily overcooked, so pay close attention. As soon as the mussels are cooked, remove them from the pan using tongs and shake off any vegetables back into the pan. Do not discard any vegetables, you will need these for your second mussel dish.
3. Arrange the cooked mussels in a bowl and sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice on them. Eat right away while hot!
4. For meal 2, save the mussel shells and remaining juices and return them to the saucepan with the cooked vegetables. Add the basil stems (not the leaves) and the potato. Cover the ingredients with the second quantity of water and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and cook for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
5. Using a pair of tongs, carefully remove the mussel shells and basil stems from the saucepan, discarding them both. Add the basil leaves, a few drops of lemon juice and ground black pepper to taste to the saucepan. Carefully transfer this mixture to an upright blender and puree until smooth. Serve hot or cold depending on the season, if cold outside serve it hot - if it's hot outside serve it cold. A nice addition in summer is a teaspoon of natural yoghurt in the bottom of your bowl before ladling over your soup.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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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.

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