Rachel Allen's Mussels with Garlic and Bread Crumbs

Name: Rachel Allen's Mussels with Garlic and Bread Crumbs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 50 grams cup fresh white bread crumbs; 50 grams tablespoons butter; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley; 1 large clove garlic, crushed or grated; 900 grams pounds mussels in their shells, scrubbed clean

Rachel Allen's Mussels with Garlic and Bread Crumbs might be just the hor d'oeuvre you are searching for. One serving contains 975 calories, 31g of protein, and 14g of fat. This recipe covers 24% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. This recipe serves 4. Head to the store and pick up bread crumbs, mussels in their shells, parsley, and a few other things to make it today. To use up the butter you could follow this main course with the Cinnamon Butter Cake as a dessert.

Instructions

Check over the mussels and, if any are open, give them a tap; if they don’t close, discard them.

Ingredients you will need

Mussels

Put the tightly shut mussels with just 1 tablespoon of water in a large saucepan over low heat and cover with the lid. They will open in the steam. If you catch them when they are just opening, they will be delicious and juicy, so don’t overcook them.

Ingredients you will need

Mussels

Water

Equipment you will use

Sauce Pan

Remove the mussels from the pan (keeping any juices for a fish soup, pie, stew, or even to mix with mayonnaise served with shellfish such as shrimp). Discard any cooked mussels with unopened shells.

Ingredients you will need

Mayonnaise

Shrimp

Mussels

Pasta Shells

Fish

Stew

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Discard half a shell from each mussel and pull out the beard—the little fibrous tuft— from the straight side of each mussel.

Ingredients you will need

Mussels

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Equipment you will use

Sauce Pan

Add the bread crumbs, garlic, and parsley and mix together. With a spoon, firmly pack the bread crumb mixture on top of each mussel.

Ingredients you will need

Breadcrumbs

Parsley

Garlic

Mussels

Bread

Place the mussels, crumb side up, in a single layer on ovenproof plates or gratin dishes. (These can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance.) When you are ready to eat, pop them under a preheated broiler (grill) until golden, crunchy, and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Mussels

Pop

Equipment you will use

Broiler

Grill

Variations: While it isn’t classically Irish, sometimes I feel like adding a bit more zip to this recipe, so in place of the parsley, I add 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) together with one-quarter to one-half of a fresh red chile, seeded and chopped. Or you could try adding some grated lemon zest to the crumbs.

Ingredients you will need

Fresh Cilantro