← Nouns Cooking · British & Irish

Ingredients

• 2 kg live mussels, scrubbed and beards pulled off
• 25 g Butter
• 150 g smoked bacon lardons
• 2 Shallot, finely sliced
• 2 cloves Garlic, sliced
• 4 sprigs Thyme, leaves picked
• 300 ml Dry cider (alcoholic)
• 100 ml double cream or crème fraîche
• 1 handful Parsley, chopped
• crusty bread, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Check the mussels: tap any open ones on the side of the sink and throw away any that don't close, along with any with cracked shells.
2. Melt the butter in a very large pan with a lid over medium heat. Fry the bacon for 5 min until golden, then add the shallots, garlic and thyme and cook for 3 min until soft.
3. Turn the heat up to high, pour in the cider and let it bubble for 1 minute. Tip in the mussels, cover tightly and steam for 4–5 min, shaking the pan now and then, until the shells have opened.
4. Lift the mussels into warm bowls with a slotted spoon, throwing away any that stayed shut.
5. Stir the cream into the pan juices and bubble for 1 minute, then add the parsley and season with pepper (it rarely needs salt). Pour over the mussels and serve with crusty bread.

Tips

• Most of the alcohol cooks off but not all; for an alcohol-free version use cloudy apple juice with a squeeze of lemon.
• Bread is gluten; the mussels themselves are gluten-free. Shellfish is a common allergen.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Jamie Oliver Great British Chefs Olive Magazine