STEAMED MUSSELS WITH SAFFRON & TOMATO

I'm a freelancer.  So when my latest job came to an end I was filled mixed emotions.  I dearly love the people I was working with (although I work with them often so I'm sure I'll see them again soon), and it's always nice to have a steady paycheck, I was also kind of excited that I was going to suddenly have a lot more time on my hands.  Time during which I can cook!  I suppose I ought to be making phone calls, emailing people, chasing down job leads, but instead, this last week I found myself sitting around my apartment watching daytime TV and leafing though cookbooks.

I didn't know what I wanted to make but I wanted to do something that wasn't necessarily simple.  Something that I probably wouldn't make on a weeknight after work.  I was also looking for something that was vaugely celebratory.  You see another project that I worked on late last year, a feature length, made for TV documentary, was set to premiere on Friday and Mark and I were going to have a tiny little viewing party.  So I was on the prowl for a dish that felt, I don't know, special.

I found this recipe in Tyler Florence's first cookbook.  I had been wanted to try making mussels at home for a while now and this seemed like the perfect occasion, however I was slightly torn between Tyler's recipe and the one in the Balthazar cookbook.  I'm sure the one in the Balthazer book would be fantastic but it was also more traditionally French bistro, whereas Tyler's take was more exotic thanks to spicy curry powder and delicate saffron.  I decided to go for the spice.

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds of mussels
extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 bay leaves
Pinch of saffron threads, steeped in 2 tablespoons of hot water
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 cup dry vermouth
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons unslated butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup of freshly chopped cilantro and fresh flat-leaf parsley

METHOD
First clean the mussels.  Under running water while scrubbing with a vegetable brush.  Remove the stringy mussel beards with your thumb and index finger as you wash them.  You may need to use a small knife.  Discard any mussels that are open and remain so when the shell is tapped, likewise any with broken shells. 

Do not store the mussels in the plastic bag they may have come in.  They can suffocate and die.  Instead place them in a large bowl filled with ice.  The fish monger at Whole Foods said that it was okay to also fill the bowl with cold water, but after a little internet research, I've discovered that this is actually not recommended, as they can drown from being under water too long.  I stored mine in ice as well as cold water and I had about 8 or so that did not open during the steaming.  Learn from my mistake, people.

Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, tomato and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables have cooked down and beccome very soft, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir in the saffron, saffron water, red pepper flakes, and curry powder.

Add the vermouth, lemon juice, and chicken stock and stir everything to combine.  Add the mussels and stir again to coat them with the vegetables, spices and chicken stock, vermouth mixture. 

Cover the pot and steam over medium-high heat for 10 mintues, until the mussels open, stirring occasionally so that all the mussels are in contact with the heat.

See?  Open and ready for business.  At this point the recipe says to spoon out the mussles, place them in a bowl and cover with foil.  Pick out the bay leaves and then add the butter and puree the vegetables with a hand-held blender (or in a regular blender) so that the sauce is smooth.  I however, did not do this step and it was fine.  I sort of liked having the soft onions nestled in with and coiled around the smooth black shells and hiding in with the meat inside.  Next time I might try it though, just to see what it's like. 

Spoon the mussels into serving bowls and pour the vegetables and sauce over.  Scatter the mussels with the chopped parsley and cilantro and serve accompanied by some crusty grilled bread to soak up the sauce.  I thought I would be very clever and do a sort of variation on the classic Moules Frites but keeping in line with the Indian flavors, so in addtion to the mussles I did some roasted fingerling potatoes spiced with cumin and corriander, which I served with a ginger curry aioli.  The aioli was kind of great but I wound up roasting the potatoes too long.  They were far too dark and crisp.  It was more than a little disappointing. 

The mussels on the other hand were heavenly.  They were perfectly cooked - soft and tender, not at all rubbery.  And the sauce was unique and unexpected.  Very flavorful, spicy with just a little heat.  The texture of the mussels work well with the soft onions while the tomatoes almost totally cook down into the sauce thickening it ever so slightly.  Part of me wishes I had swirled in the butter, as the recipe called for. It would have given the sauce just a little richness, but unless you knew that the butter it was absent, most likely you'd never miss it.  And to be honest, I found that dunking the bread, crisp on the outside and soft at the core, into the spicey sauce that had the taste of the sea was decadent enough.

Although the cookbook claims that 3 pounds of mussels serves 4 to 6 people, I found that it served Mark and myself quite generously.  Keep in mind that not every mussel will open during the steaming and it's not like you're serving it with linguine or something, although that might not be a bad idea.

Comments

[Dianka]

Wow, looks like you are a pro now! Beautiful dish!

~Dianka
http://na-zdravi.blogspot.com/

[Julie]

Hello, I stumbled across your site while looking for recipes...this may be a stupid question, but would you have any good recipes for lemon meringue pie?

[Jessica]

I had no idea that mussels, like lobsters, were cooked alive. That makes me a little sad.

Not sad enough to not eat them, though. That looks divine.

[Tara]

Say, where did you get that big lovely green pot you cooked the mussels in?

[Grant]

Julie - I'm sorry I don't have a recipe for lemon meringue. The closest thing I have is for a lime curd tart. Would that be of any interest?

Jessica - I might be wrong, but I think all shellfish is cooked alive. I'm not sure though. I don't know.

Tara - That pot is a 9.5 quart oval dutch oven from Le Creuset. It's from Williams Sonoma although it's available at many cookware shops. I just got it and I love it!

[Lynn D.]

I made this last night to much acclaim. I am lucky enough to have a nice round green Le Creuset pot to cook it in. I didn't have chicken broth so I made some quick vegetable stock with fennel stalks and fronds, onion and garlic. I recommend this and I think fennel is a traditional pairing with mussels. Next time I might even add some fennel bulb to the onions and tomatoes. I also added some garbanzos and they soaked up the sauce wonderfully. In fact I may make it without the mussels when my vegetarian son comes to visit.

[Luke M Sweeney]

Recipe was in and of itself excellent. I modified and added 4 oz. Linguica, used 1/2 the onion,and substituted 2 tomatoes w 1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoe w garlic (drained) and used tomatoe juice w 1/2 cup white wine vice chicken stock. Try it, and I guarantee it'll be over the top w you and your significant other.

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[julsbacewicz]

We had never made mussels before and tried your recipe. Two things: 1. You REALLY have to do a thorough job cleaning the mussels for sand. We trusted the fish market salesman who said they were all clean and ready to go. Our mistake for taking his word. 2.Didn't realize they would be so spicy. Next time I might eliminate or cut-back on the red pepper. Otherwise it was a great base, esp. pureed in the food processor.

[Kristy]

I've never tried mussels but I think I am going to have to try your recipe! YUM!

[Doug]

Made this from the book tonight. Very good.