mussels with smoked garlic & chives

30 mins

2

Easy

A classic dish, ideal as a starter for two or main for one.

The Ingredients
 

½ medium onion, very finely chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove smoked garlic, crushed

15g butter

2tbsp finely chopped chives

75ml water

75ml dry white wine

2tbsp double cream

450g/1lb mussels

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra chopped chives to garnish
     
 
Ingredients Notice
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Quick-Mussels-with-Garlic-Herb-Butter
The Method
    1. Sweat the onion and shallots in the butter for 10-15 mins, add the garlic and fry 1 minute.
    2. Add half the chives, the water and wine and bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes.
    3. Clean the mussels: throw away any with cracked or broken shells and any that remain open when tapped, pull off the beards and remove any barnacles.
    4. Give them a thorough wash in lots of cold water.
    5. Add the mussels to the onion mixture, cover and steam gently for 5 minutes or until all the mussels have opened.
    6. Throw away any mussels that remain closed, tip into a colander set over a bowl and return the liquid to the saucepan
    7. Add the cream and boil to reduce the liquid to syrupy consistency (keep the mussels warm while this is happening).
    8. Check the seasoning and put the mussels into serving dishes, pour over the sauce and scatter the remaining chives over the top.