Herb & Wine Marinated Mussels

Marinated Mussels in herbs and wine sauce 

Mussels with a variety of aromatic herbs is a well known and favorite dish in the Mediterranean region. This recipe has its roots in France but its a similar favorite in Italy, Spain, and Greece as well. 

Generally speaking, we serve the mussels like an appetizer dish, to open up the appetite for the main dish, which would usually be fish. 

The ingredients that we are going to need for this recipe are the following:

Marinated Mussels: Ingredients List

  • four to six pounds of mussels 
  • three to four small shallots
  • half a bunch of celery leaves
  • two teaspoons of cumin 
  • one teaspoon of black pepper corns
  • one bunch of parsley
  • one bay leaf
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper (as desired)
  • 2/3 bottle of dry white wine (in our case a crisp, flavorful Pinot Grigio)

And for the sauce:

  • fresh lemon juice (one lemon)
  • 2 1/2 ounces of fresh butter
  • half a bunch of parsley

Marinated Mussels: Cooking Steps

To start, we wash and clean thoroughly the mussels under running, cool water. Discard any mussels whose shells are already open. Keep the rest, washed and ready, in a big bowl. 

Taking a deep frying pan we then go ahead and chop the shallots, crush the pepper corns, add the cumin and the finely chopped parsley, the bay leaf, salt and black pepper (as needed), and you stir altogether in the pan with the dry white wine (Pinot Grigio) and you add into that mixture the mussels. 

Turning the stovetop to a high flame, start boiling till the mussel shells open. If you find any unopened mussels after cooking has been complete, do not pry them open, throw them away. 

During the cooking time, using a big holed spoon, rotate the mussel shells and stir well. 

When the mussels are open, with the big holed spoon, take them out and keep them warm in a separate serving dish. 

We then strain the broth through a fine strainer. Put the filtered broth back into a pot to continue boiling, while also adding now the fresh lemon juice. 

After a few minutes take the broth off the flame and by slowly adding the fresh butter, you stir vigorously with a whisk. You then add the finely chopped parsley, pour the sauce on top of the mussels, and serve immediately. 

Wine Pairing Tips

This is a great appetizer with a home baked bread and a sparkling wine, like a Spumante Secco. 

Bon apetit and cheers! 

› › Marinated Mussels

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