Saturday 19 September 2020

Moules, but no frites. A Friday lunch.



These days I buy my Mussels in 1.4 kilo vacuum packs. Not only are they all perfect, but they are all guaranteed live. They cost over twice the price of loose ones, but it's worth the extra cost.


I finely chop some onion and garlic, fry in butter and olive oil, then add a good splash of white wine. When all is bubbling away I add the washed Mussels and wait for about 5 minutes. All very classic.

Lady Magnon suggested that I add some cream, but I told her that too much luxury wasn't good for her.

A very pleasant, and cheap, lunch. We should eat them more often.

30 comments:

  1. I wonder how long they would stay live in a vacuum pack.

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    Replies
    1. The consume-by date was the 22nd, several days after the packaging date of the 16th; so that's 6 days. We ate them yesterday which was the 18th.

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  2. Morning Cro,
    I do the Belgian method for mine.... no wine, I substitute with a 330/250ml bottle of good beer.... I use Orval by choice [which is easy to get at a non-wallet-scorching price in France]and serve the same beer with the moules. And add a few handfuls of fennel tops. I use bronze simply because our one plant of 2011 escaped.... but we leave it where it isn't inconvenient and as caterpillar food because the Swallowtails love it!
    I must chasse your purchase... much less fafff!

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    1. Mine came from Leclerc, but I believe they're everywhere. I will certainly try your beer method; I've also heard that cider is good. I'm not too keen on fennel.

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  3. Absolutely delicious. We cook ours the same way. Haven't seen those sort of packs though. We buy frozen NZ green lip mussels or if we are very lucky a friend will bring us a few kilos from a mussel farm on his way back from athens

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    1. If you should see these on sale somewhere, I recommend them. They are perfectly processed and cleaned. All you do is cook them!

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  4. I love moules but hubby isn't keen , I may have to get him to take me out for some lol .

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    1. That's always a problem, isn't it. I love Oysters, but my wife doesn't; so I tend to go without. I have to wait until my oldest son visits, then we spoil ourselves.

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  5. I love mussels, especially in a tomato based simple sauce, but any way really. May I ask how much the vacuumed packs cost?

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    Replies
    1. About €4 I think; the loose ones were about €2 per kilo.

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  6. I love these but always worry about the hair thats inside them.I was told once that if you eat that, you swell up!.It tends to take the pleasure out of eating them,lol.Do you have to faff about and take the hair out or do you just eat them?xx

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    1. I think someone was pulling your leg. The 'beard' is easily pulled away before cooking, and any that's left is usually stuck to the shell; not the meat. I never bother with it.

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  7. My husband used to dive and we ate a lot of crab, lobster etc. He bought up some mussels once and I put them in a bucket of cold salted water with a sprinkling of oatmeal. I had read that they fed on the oatmeal and secreted any dirt and grit !!!! What a palaver .... I can’t remember if it made any
    difference ! XXXX

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    1. If you catch them yourself it's best to purge them overnight. Usually the ones you buy at a fish shop have already been done.

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    2. You would use cornmeal, not oatmeal, to clean them! LOL Use to do that with clams in N. CA.

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  8. Sometimes I think anything with butter, garlic, onion and white wine would be delicious.

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    1. Absolutely! Especially if in conjunction with something from the sea.

      Happy Rosh HaShanah Yael.

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  9. I adore moules but have never seen them round here vacuum packed as in your photograph.

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    Replies
    1. It's a relatively new idea, they've been around for 2 or 3 years only.

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  10. Moules et frites are one of our favourite treats. The ones we buy in our local market usually take very little preparation but I will try the vac pack ones next time I see them.

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    Replies
    1. These take even less time to prepare; a quick wash in cold water, and into the white wine. What could be simpler. Delicious.

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  11. Delicious! Even more wicked when they're served with frites.

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    1. Frites in the evening; by themselves for lunch. But the frites do go very well.

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  12. I can hear the mussels crying out from here..."Mon Dieu! I am too young to die!" and "I had dreams I still wished to follow!" and "I was happy clinging to that rock with my friends!" R.I.P. Les Moules!

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    Replies
    1. They sacrificed themselves willingly, at the altar of gastronomy.

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  13. How I loved moules. Can't do them any more. Frites, yay. I can always do them, though I had them mashed at supper.

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    1. They're a little treat that I often forget about. I really should make a list of all those things I rarely buy; but love.

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  14. So delicious! And so cheap for you!! We can get the vacuum-packed live mussels, too, but they're a rare treat around here as it's more like $30 a packet.

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    1. Over here it's a reasonably cheap meal for two. And fun too; I love eating with my fingers.

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