This is a shameless twist on a French staple, leaving out the conventional aromatics of thyme and bay and replacing them, perhaps brazenly, with a lemon grass stalk or two. As the cooking liquor has been increased in volume to make this more soupy than the classic moules marinières, a good fish stock is important; follow my recipe for fish stock and make your own fresh, if you can.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 large echalion shallots, finely sliced
- 2 lemon grass stalks, very finely sliced (try and get it into shavings with a very sharp knife)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2½ lb (1.2 kg) mussels
- generous ¾ cup (200 ml) white wine
- 6 cups (1.4 litres) good fish stock
- 3½ oz (100 g) samphire
- a small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- crusty bread, to serve
How to Make It
- Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan set over low heat and add the shallots, lemon grass and garlic. Cook very gently for about 10 minutes, or until everything is well softened.
- While the onions are softening, prepare the mussels. Wash and de-beard them. Discard any that are open and which don’t close when given a sharp tap on the shell with the knife, as these may be dead.
- Add the wine to the pan, turn up the heat to medium and let it reduce until the liquid has almost all gone. Add the stock to the pan, put the lid on and bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat so that the liquid is just simmering and add the mussels and the samphire. Cook for 3–4 minutes, until the mussels are cooked and have all opened and the samphire is tender.
- Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper, then stir in the parsley just before serving. Ladle into shallow bowls, picking out and discarding any mussels that have not opened as you go, and serve with crusty bread.