Movember 4 Course - Fish Course - Moussels in Creamy Cider

This week is the fish course. I am a huge fan of mussels but they take a bit of work to clean but once you have finished making them and start eating, it makes it all worthwhile.

Serves 2

1kg Mussels
2 Cloves of Garlic, diced
4 shallots, sliced
150ml Cider
100ml Double Cream
Flat Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped
Knob of Butter

Crusty Bread, to serve

Mussel Prep

1. Give the mussels a quick rinse with cold water

2. When taking a mussel if its open give it a tap with a knife or a surface, if it closes then it's fine to prepare. If it doesn't then you need to throw it away as the mussel is dead. Also if you find any mussels with a broken shell then discard them too.

3. Take a sharp knife knife and scrape off the barnacles (they are these white hard spots on the shell).

4. Then pull off the beard off the mussel. Use the knife if they are tough to remove (it is the brown/black hairy thing near the hinge of the mussel).

5. Repeat steps 2-4 with each mussel. Not all mussel will have barnacles or beards.

Cooking

1. Use a large pan and melt the melt butter and cook the garlic and shallots for 1-2 minutes until softened.

2. Then add the mussels to the pan and pour in the cider and give a quick stir. Place the lid of the pan and steam for about 5 minutes. The shells should have opened.

3. Add the cream and parsley and heat through for a couple of minutes.

4. Serve immediately with crusty bread. Have another bowl for the shells.

Tip

With the mussels they need to alive when you cook them for the best flavour. So that most of the mussels are alive when you prepare them put them in the fridge with a damp flannel over them. This gives them the moisture they need.

This is the fish course for my 4 Course Movember meal please please please donate to the cause :

Movember Donation Page

Greek Lamb Burgers

Easy to make and very tasty. They don't need any binding, just form it in the hands, fry and stack.


Makes 8 Burgers

600g Minced Lamb
6 Crusty Rolls
Wild Rocket
1 Red Onion, finely sliced
2 Tsp of Dried Lamb/Handful of Fresh Mint
75g Feta Cheese, crumbled
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1. In a mixing bowl and mix the mint, seasoning and lamb in a bowl. Form into patties and place on a plate. They can be left overnight or frozen.

2. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Do the burgers in batches of 2. Fry on each side for about 5 minutes or until brown all around the burger. If you want a well done burger fry for longer.

3. Cut the rolls in half. Stack with the rocket, burger, feta, and red onion. Serve with salad and chips.