The most traditional way of preparing mussels is to cook them with a dash of white wine, coarsely grounded black pepper, a few bay leaves and the well-known mussel vegetables.
The most traditional way of preparing mussels is to cook them with a dash of white wine, coarsely grounded black pepper, a few bay leaves and the well-known mussel vegetables.
Which white wine you might ask? A light, dry white wine combines perfectly. But actually, there is only one real rule when choosing the perfect wine: this is the wine you like best to drink with it.
Consider 1 kilogram of mussels per person, this provides you with about 250 grams of cooked mussel meat. If you serve different side dishes, such as fries or bread, you can certainly reduce the amount.
There is a golden rule among chefs on how long mussels should be cooked: shake them up three times. This means that you cover the pan with mussels with a lid, bring everything to a boil and then shake the pan well a few times. This way all ingredients are well mixed.
The pan goes back on the fire and when it boils again, it is shaken again. This is repeated one more time. Now all the shells will open properly and the mussels are ready to be served.
Is your pan not completely empty? No problem, use the leftover mussels to bake them the next day. Therefor you view the recipe for Baked mussels with parsley and lemon.
Also check out our other mussel recipes:
Classic steamed mussels with white wine
Ingredients
- 4 kilograms mussels
- 1 leek
- 1 winter carrot
- 2 onions
- 1 bunch parsley
- 6 bay leaves
- 2 glasses white wine
- black pepper freshly grounded
Instructions
- Place the mussels in the sink or in a large bowl and cover them completely with cold water. Scoop out the mussels and change the water.
- Check carefully whether there are any broken mussels, remove them immediately. If there are any mussels with their shells open, give them a gentle tap on the counter. Mussels that close immediately are still good. If the shells do not close, discard these mussels as well.
- Scrape any smallpox or small shells from the mussel shells with a knife.
- Finally, pull off the beards (threads on the inside of the shell) from the mussels with a knife.
- Do a final water change and let them drain well in a colander.
- Clean the leek, carrot and onion and cut into small pieces. You can also use pre-made mussel vegetables for this.
- Cut the stems of the parsley into pieces and chop the tops very finely.
- Mix the parsley stems with the rest of the vegetables. Keep the chopped parsley tops aside.
- Divide the mussels over 2 mussel pans and place the vegetables on top of them.
- Pour in a glass of white wine into each pan and add 3 bay leaves per pan. Sprinkle with black pepper, put the lids on and place the pans on the stove.
- Bring to the boil, cover the handles with a kitchen towel and shake the pan a few times.
- Put back on the fire and bring to a boil again. Shake again and add the chopped parsley.
- Repeat the boiling and shaking once, then check that all shells opened properly. If not, cook them for another 2 minutes.
- Open the lid at the table and place it upside down near the pan for the empty shells to be put in there.
