Green Lip Mussels Cooked With Saffron And Tomatoes Recipes

Steps:

• Holding mussels under cool running water, scrub with a stiff sponge or vegetable brush, then debeard: grip the tough fibers extending from the shell and pull to remove. Discard beards.
• Steep saffron in wine for 10 minutes. (Saffron is soluble in water, not fat, so it won't release its color or flavor if added directly to the butter.) Meanwhile, melt butter over medium-high heat in a shallow stockpot. Once it's foamy, add shallots, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until shallots are transparent and garlic is soft, about 3 minutes, stirring every so often to keep garlic from scorching. Pour in wine and saffron, then add tomatoes and return to a simmer, stirring once or twice.
• Add mussels and cover tightly. Cook until all mussels open, about 6 minutes, stirring once about halfway through. Discard any unopened mussels. If using wild mussels, strain broth through a cheesecloth-lined sieve to remove any sand, if necessary. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle with parsley before ladling mussels and broth into bowls.

Steps:

• Put the mussels in a large bowl full of water with a large handful of ice and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Allow to mussels to sit in the liquid for 1 hour to disgorge any sand. Lift mussels out of bowl, leaving flour and sand behind. Scrub and debeard mussels. Discard any which are open and do not close when thumped on the counter.
• In a wide braising pan with high sides, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the stock (or wine or water, as you choose) and the saffron. Add mussels and tomatoes to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook until all the mussels are wide open, 5 to 7 minutes. Discard any which fail to open.
• Take the pot off the heat, and stir in the cream. Serve.

Steps:

• Note: This dish really is a hands-on one. There's no way getting around using your fingers to eat this, unless you can really be bothered to take the mussels out of their shells for your guests. If you can't get your hands on fresh whole Green-lip mussels, you may be able to find some that have been prepped already, whereby they come in the half shell, already partly cooked. If this is the case, make the recipe as follows, but don't add the mussels. Cook the tomato broth for 4 minutes, before adding them and cooking a further 2 minutes.
• Place the mussels in a large pot with a tight fitting lid and add the next 6 ingredients. Mix well, then pour on the wine and oil. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes. Take the lid off the pot and give the mussels a stir, put the lid back on and cook a further 2 minutes. They're cooked when they all open, however you occasionally get some that are stubborn and refuse to play ball, so when you serve them discard these.
• I like to scoop out the mussels into a large ceramic bowl and leave it covered and warm while I serve my guests the broth as a first course in flat soup bowls. Then I bring the mussels to the table and serve them with a huge spoon into the soup bowls, then use the ceramic bowl for the discarded shells. I serve the mussels with lots of fresh crusty bread.

Steps:

• To clean the mussels, put them in a large bowl with 2 quarts of water and the flour and soak for 30 minutes, or until the mussels disgorge any sand. Drain the mussels, then remove the "beard" from each with your fingers. If they're dirty, scrub the mussels with a brush under running water. Discard any mussels whose shells aren't tightly shut.
• In a large non-aluminum stockpot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes; then add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the tomatoes, saffron, parsley, thyme, wine, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
• Add the mussels, stir well, then cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the mussels are opened (discard any that do not open). With the lid on, shake the pot once or twice to be sure the mussels don't burn on the bottom. Pour the mussels and the sauce into a large bowl and serve hot.

Steps:

• Cut onion halves crosswise into less than 1/16-inch-thick slices with slicer.
• Cook onion with saffron and 1/2 teaspoon salt in oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add wine and bring to a boil, then stir in cream, pepper, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and mussels. Cook, covered, checking after 6 minutes and transferring opened mussels to soup bowls with a slotted spoon. (Discard any that remain unopened after 8 minutes.)
• Stir parsley into broth and pour over mussels.