Steamed Mussels

Mmmmmmussels. Simple, cheap and tasty. When you buy mussels, like with all seafood, you want it to be as fresh as possible. Check if the mussels feel heavy, if they are whole and not with broken shells and finally if they are alive. This you can check by trying to open one. If you can, then don't buy them. They should hold together tightly. Some might be a bit open though. That's normal. Tap it a few times and it should close up. If not, don't buy it. Another good indicator is the smell; they should smell fresh and like the sea, not stale and fishy. Keep them in the fridge until ready to serve, but don't store them in water or they will die (they live in saltwater, not tapwater), neither in a plastic bag. They need to breath. But you want to buy them and eat them as soon as possible anyway. Many recipes call for butter and cream, but here's a healthy version.

Ingredients:

500g mussels per person

3 tbsp olive oil

4-5 cloves of garlic

1 leek

1 small red pepper

1 ripe tomato

1 bayleaf

1 glass (3 dl) white wine.

Here's about a kilo worth of uncleaned mussel. Most mussels you buy, though, are farm-bred in a way that they don't get all the gunk these have. If not, start cleaning them with a dull knife, a stiff brush and lots of clean water. Even if it looks clean, just give it a good brush anyway.

If it has a "beard", leave it until just before you are going to steam them. Then pull it out, making sure you get the end bit out or it will retract into the shell.

Clean the leek carefully by cutting it in smaller pieces and cut it open lengthwise to properly wash out any sand in between the leafs. Chop it finely. Crush and chop the garlic finely.

Cut the red pepper into small cubes.

Add the vegetables to a cold pot with a good mount of olive oil. You need a deep and wide pot so there will be spave for the mussels to lie next to eachother preferably in stead of on top of eachother. Slowly bring the vegetables to a sweat. Don't brown them, just slowly heating them.

Meanwhile, chop the ripe tomato into small cubes.

When the vegetables are soft and cooked, add the tomatoes. Give it a good stir.

Add a glass of white wine and bring the heat up until it begins to boil. Let the alcohol steam off for a minute or two.

Place the mussels in a metal colander or directly in the sauce if you don't have one.

Steam under lid for 3-4 minutes. Give them a good shake now and then. Overcooking will make them rubbery.

When you open the lid, a few of the lower ones might not have opened due to the presure from the ones on top. Remove the open ones and give the rest 30 seconds more with the lid on. Should some of them still not have opened, throw them out as they might have been dead already when you startes and thus be bad.

Pour any liquids spilled from the mussels back into the vegetables. Add a couple of the mussels to the hot liquid. When blended they will add some extra texture and taste. If you think one or two mussels are still a bit raw, these will be ideal.

Remove the bayleaf and blend the sauce with a stick blender acording to you liking. Less blending gives it a more rustic look. However, some might prefer it completely smooth.

Pour the warm sauce over the mussles and serve with crunchy crust bread for dipping.