Moules Mariniere

Ingredients

• 1kg of mussels
• 70g shallot (2) or onion (1)
• 2 teaspoon of chopped tarragon leaves
• 200ml white wine
• 200ml water

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2

Method

1. Wash and de-beard the mussels (the beard is the frizzy, hair-like stuff that hangs out between the two halves of the shell, some force may be required to remove it by pulling it towards the back of the shell). Discard any mussels that don’t close when tapped on a firm surface (because they are likely to be dead and could be poisonous).
2. Peel and finely chop the shallot and the tarragon.
3. In a pan large enough to hold all the mussels with a lid, place the shallot, water, wine and tarragon.
4. Bring it to the boil, tip in the mussels and put the lid on.
5. Cook the mussels for 5 minutes, until most or all of them have opened.
6. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened (because they may have died prior to cooking and could be poisonous).
7. Tip the entire contents of the pan into a dish and serve.

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Useful Information

Can it be frozen? No.
Can it be prepared in advance? Yes, up to 2 days to stage 1 (keep the mussels in a dry bowl without any water, covered with a damp tea towel or kitchen paper)
Will leftovers be nice? No.

Notes