Moules Mariniere

• Heat a pan at low flame. Melt butter. Keep it covered.
• Chop garlic, fresh parsley, celery leaves and shallot and mix with dry cider. Add the mixture to the pan.
• Then add mussels. Cover the pan with lid and cook for 2 minutes.
• When the mussels open, remove them from the pan and place them on a plate.
• Remove pan from the flame. Strain the stock then place the pan back on the flame. Let it come down by half.
• Add cream in a separate, small pan and let it come to a boil until it thickens.
• Add cream to the other pan. Remove the pan from flame and add a large stick of butter.
• Pour butter over mussels.
• Add parsley dressing.
• Serve warm.

Trivia

• When you go out and buy the mussels, they should already be washed. Their beards should be removed.
• If you collected mussels yourself, wash off dust particles in running water.
• If you have opened any mussels, tap them and if they do not close instantly, they need to be discarded.
• While washing them, scrape off their beards.
• Also, mussels that do not open after cooking should be discarded.
• Moules Marinieres is an essential French holiday dish. It is usually taken with wine and baguette as a sideline.
• Mussels are usually overlooked and considered poor man’s seafood.
• Mussels may be cooked in either white wine or dry cider.
• While washing mussels, avoid scrubbing the shells since the color sheds while cooking and causes mussels to look gray.
• You could tell that the mussels are not fresh if they start floating on the surface while cooking. Throw them away or have them replaced if you bought them.
• Close the mussels by pressing them together. If they don’t close immediately, discard them.

Use a knife to scrape off barnacles. Pull out the beards. Then wash them properly.