Best Mussels White Wine Parsley Recipes

MUSSELS, WHITE WINE & PARSLEY

Steps:

• Tip the mussels into the sink or a large bowl of cold water. Swish them around with your hands to wash them thoroughly. Use a small sharp knife to scrape off any barnacles attached to the shells. Discard any mussels with broken shells.
• Pull off the beards using the knife to help you - they just need a good tug. The beard is the brown wispy bit hanging out of the join in the shells. Not all mussels will have beards.
• If any mussels are open, tap them sharply against the side of the sink, worktop or with a knife. If they don't close, discard them - they are dead and not edible.
• Rinse the mussels again in fresh cold water to remove any bits of shell or barnacle, and drain in a colander. Tip the mussels into a large pan, then add the wine and chopped shallot. The pan should not be more than half full - the mussels need plenty of space to move around so that they cook thoroughly.
• Set the pan over a high heat and cover tightly with a lid. When the pan starts to steam, cook the mussels for 3-4 mins, shaking the pan from time to time to ensure they cook evenly. They are cooked when the shells have opened. Mussels that have not opened are fine to eat if they can be easily opened.
• Remove the pan from the heat to stop the mussels cooking any further. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, then spoon them into warmed bowls and pour over the pan juices.

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 1or 2 and ladle it over the hot mussels. Serve slices of crusty bread at the table.