This week Beau eats... Moules Marinières!

WOOF WOOF!

Ah, ladies and gentledogs! This week I bring you a classic favourite of mine which reminds me of my youth, holidays beachcombing in Brittany, hoovering crèpes and cider in cosy kennels up and down the Normandy coast. Moules are also an inevitable element in any trip to Brussels (some might argue the BEST reason for going to Belgium, beers aside...). Frites are a great accompaniment, as is good, fresh piping hot baguette or pungeant soda bread to dip in the sauce.
The best "Moules" I ever had were served to me on my last night in Dublin, after losing all my money and spending a night sleeping at Dublin airport. My friends and I scraped together the last remaining coins we had and headed back into the centre looking for a celebratory last meal and pint. The pub name escapes me, but it was near the Temple Bar, in the first year of the euro, before Dublin went hyper-crazy. The wiater brought us a steaming bucket of mussels, in white wine, garlic and fresh parsley with a chewy sourdough soda bread hunk and three creamy pints of the black stuff. With diddly-diddly music, the combined love of 35 drunken tourists and the warmth of the pub log fire, we nearly died and went to Moules heaven.

Here is the simplest recipe, for fool-proof Moules Marinières:

CLEAN YOUR MUSSELS (even better, buy them cleaned, or get the fishmonger to do it for you!)
-pull off the beard-like hairs sticking out from the mussels, and scrub them with a nail brush under running water.

Ingredients:

2 kg of fresh mussels
one fat clove of garlic
two shallots, chopped finely

2 large glasses of dry white wine
a big bunch of flat leaf parsely
freshly ground black pepper
large knob of salted butter

optional (but absolutely unnecessary): large dollop of crème fraiche or double cream

Method:

Heat the knob of butter in a large casserole ( we have a Le Creuset, only the best for hip dogs like me!).

When the butter starts to foam gently, throw in the garlic and shallots and the glass of white wine. Cook until the shallots soften and become translucent. Bring the whole lot to the boil and toss in the mussels, mix around to coat the mussels in all the juice. Cover and steam for 2-3 minutes, until the mussels open up. If any mussels haven't opened, throw them out, DO NOT force them open or eat them!!!

Strain the liquid and set aside, put the mussels into a serving dish.

Return the liquid to the pan, heat again and add the fresh parsley and if you really want, a dollop of double cream (mucho fatty and seafood snob dogs will look down upon you...)

Pour the liquid back over the mussels and bring to the table!

Serve with great bread or crispy, golden frites!

CHOW DOWN DOGGIES!