Steamed Mussels in a Mustard Sauce

During my pilgrimage to Greece last year, I discovered a "psarotavera" or seafood tavern in the resort town where we stay. One of the items on the menu that we enjoyed was a Mussels Saganaki in a mustard sauce.

Later on in my vacation, we endured a rare Greek summer rainstorm. Three days after the rain storm and during one of my routine walks along my beach I saw a large blue thingy washed up on the shore. As I neared the object I could see that it was a large plastic barrel. I got real close & I got giddy with my discovery. I won the seafood jackpot! It was a barrel with mussels attached that must had dislodged from a mussels farm across the Thermaic Gulf from the area of Makrygialo (well know for it's mussels cultivation). The barrel must have broken loose from the storm and it took a couple of days for this "mussels suprise" to come my way.

I quickly looked around the beach to find a shopping bag usually left by other beachgoers and I loaded the bag with perfectly alive & good mussels! On my way home after my swim, I invited my friends and close neighbors to drop by and share in my good seafood fortune.

Today I paid homage to this dish by recreating it and sharing it with all of you. This seafood dish is tangy from the mustard and spicy from the chili and it's great "mopping up" food. Dunk that bread!

In the meantime, go get the crusty bread while I show you how it's done.....

You will need:

2 lbs of fresh mussels
extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of baking soda
3 tbsp fresh thyme
4 tbsp fresh parsley (1/2 reserved for garnish)
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp salt
1 medium onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
3/4 cup Chardonnay white wine
1/2 Thai chili
1/4 red pepper, 1/4 yellow pepper, 1/4 green pepper, diced
1 handful of crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp. of flour
1 tbsp of butter
1/3 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk (calorie-wise alternative)
3 cloves of minced garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon

This mussels recipe is a 3-parter but "chillax"...it's easy and one need not be intimidated or scared about bad mussels getting you sick.

Part One

Buy your mussels from a reputable fish monger or grocer that has a good and well-patroned seafood counter. Mussels are usually found alive in the swirling tanks of water or on ice and they can individually be picked or they come in fish-net type of bags. You should buy your mussels on the day you're going to consume them.

After you buy them, try & get home as soon as you can so you can commence the cleaning process. Take out your mussels and carefully pour them into your clean kitchen sink. Have the cold water running and pull the visible beard off of each mussel and place in a large strainer.

Important Note: Discard any mussels whose shells are broken or mussels that don't close shut when you tap them (they are dead). Being cheap may get you sick.

The next step involves cleaning the shell. You can take a handful of mussels and rub them together to remove any unwanted barnacles and the like. Repeat this step in batches and place in the strainer once again. Rinse and place the strainer-full of mussels over a bowl to capture any water and refrigerate until you're ready to steam them.

The third step is simple. Thirty minutes before you are going to steam your mussels, put them in a bowl of cold water with a table spoon of flour. Since the mussels are still alive, they will "breath" in the water and this will cause them to expel any dirt in the shell and the flou will cling to the dirt and go to the bottom of your bowl. After 30 minutes, rinse your mussels and you may begin steaming them.

Part Deux, Mustard Sauce

In a small saucepan on medium heat, put in the butter and when it starts to bubble, put in your flour and stir frequently to prevent it from burning and add your minced garlic (1 tbsp) and allow it to cook for a minute. Now slowly add your cream/evaporated milk so that it stays thick. Lastly, add your mustard, mix well and reserve and keep warm. It will probably thick & pasty but no worries, we'll remedy this at the end.

Part Three, Steaming Mussels

Place a large pot on the stove with high heat and add a 4 count of olive oil. Add your onions, shallot, sweet peppers, bay leaves, half your parsley, thyme and garlic. Reduce your heat to medium to allow your vegetables to sweat and for the herbs to perfume your sauce base. When the onions are translucent you should be ready for steaming.

Throw all of your mussels into the pot, add the wine, the chili pepper, the pinch of baking soda (it will successfully destroy the poisonous secretion from sick/dead mussels) and increase the heat to high and cover with the lid. Your mussels should be cooked when all of them have opened. It should take no more than 10 minutes for 2lbs of mussels to be ready.

When you are satisfied that the mussels are all open, take a soup ladle and take some mussel broth and add it to your reserved mustard sauce and keep adding until it has taken liquid form. Pour the mustard sauce into the pot of mussels along with your crumbled feta and incorporate with a large spoon. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve with lots of bread.

Final Note: If you discover any unopened mussels whilst eating please discard them. Better safe than sore!

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