Mydopilafo (Μυδοπίλαφο)

Today's entry focuses on mussels. Boy do I love mussels. It's fitting that I love mussels as my first taste of them was in Thessaloniki, which is known for tons of of dishes that contain mussels.

There's Mussels Saganaki, there's Fried Mussels, there's Steamed Mussels, a soup and many variations in between that diverge from these mothership recipes.

For mussels to flourish in the wild or cultivated, an environment of sea and fresh water must exist and that's why mussels are only found on shores near where a river empties to the sea.

I had a good chuckle when I read a preamble to a mussels recipe in a Greek cook book. The author stated that mussels are a staple of the Greek Islands. This is boldly false. If you find any mussels on the Greek Islands, they have been transported from Northern Greece (Macedonia).

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, the majority of mussels in Greece are cultivated in Macedonia (with the exception of some mussel cultivation in the Saronic Gulf).

There's just a couple of more days until Easter and I want to show a famous mussel dish from Thessaloniki...Mydopilafo or Rice With Musssels.

I seen & tried many recipes for this Thessaloniki classic but I'm going to show you a version that's easy, mild in seafood flavour, Lenten-friendly and as always, delicious.

The key to this dish is of course to use fresh mussels. This rice dish stands head & shoulders above your regular rice dish because of the liqueur that releases from the mussels as they cook.

The next time you see fresh mussels at your fish monger, try Mydopilafo from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Think of Athens as "the blonde" and Thessaloniki as "the brunette".

Blondes might have more fun but brunettes do it better!

Mydopilafo (Μυδοπίλαφο)
(for 4)

2 cups long grain rice
1/2 olive oil
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow pepper
1 large, ripe tomato, grated
5 cups of hot seafood/shellfish stock salt and pepper to taste
1 kilo of fresh mussels, cleaned

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. Clean your mussels as per safe guidelines and reserve in the fridge. Rinse your rice and pick out any bad, blemished kernels.
2. In a baking dish, add your rice, olive oil, grated tomato, diced peppers and stock and some black pepper stir to incorporate. Resist adding salt until after the mussels have been cooked, as they are naturally salty.
3. Place your rice in your preheated oven for about 60 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Remove your baked rice and fluff the rice to mix the peppers up with the rice. Lay your mussels on the bed of rice and bake for another 5 minutes or until the shells have opened up (discard any shells that have not opened). Toss the mussels and rice to mix the mussel juices with the rice and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
   
5. Serve hot immediately or use any leftovers as a cold appetizer inside a mussell shell.

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