Wild mussels grow on rocks in inter-tidal zones, and consequently often need to be purged of sand before cooking, or their broth strained after cooking. Many an otherwise excellent mussel dish has been spoiled by a gritty crunch. Tricks for purging mussels of sand include soaking them with seawater, or corn meal, or oats.
Cultivated mussels are often grown on ropes, and these are the mussels that I prefer because they are usually sand-free. Rope-cultivated mussels are grown from mussel larvae that have settled on a rope’s surface. The process is fascinating and simple enough for anyone who lives by the ocean’s edge to try.
Many years ago I joined my husband on a business trip to the south of France. One highlight of the trip was our dinners in the large and gracious dining room of the inn. It was here that I discovered mussel soup in the French style and I ordered it every day.
Cream of Mussel Soup
Adapted from The Seafood Cookbook, Pierre Franey and Bryan Miller (1986 Times Books)
Ingredients
- •3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- •¼ cup chopped shallots
- •¼ cup chopped onion
- •1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- •½ teaspoon saffron threads
- •2 quarts mussels, well-scrubbed with beards removed
- •Tabasco sauce, to taste
- •¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
- •1½ cups dry white wine
- •2 cups heavy cream
- •1 cup light cream
- •Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, onion, garlic, and saffron. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the mussels, Tabasco, parsley, and wine. Cover and cook until the mussels have opened, about 5 minutes.
Add the creams to the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. If necessary, keep warm over low heat.
