Mussels Steamed With Fennel Lovage And Cherry Tomatoes Recipes

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH FENNEL AND TOMATO

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and fennel; cook until just soft and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and season with salt and pepper; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are just soft, about 4 minutes. Add the vermouth and boil to reduce slightly. Add the tomatoes and tarragon, then cover the pot and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water and the mussels. Raise the heat to high, cover and cook until the mussels open, 3 to 5 minutes. (Check halfway through and transfer any open mussels to a serving bowl.) Transfer all the mussels to a serving bowl, discarding any that do not open. Season the sauce with pepper and, if needed, salt, and pour over the mussels. Serve with the bread.
• Photograph By Antonis Achilleos

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH FENNEL, TOMATOES, OUZO, AND CREAM

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in shallots and garlic, and cook until tender. Stir in fennel and tomato, and continue cooking about 5 minutes.
• Mix white wine, ouzo, and heavy cream into the saucepan, and bring to a boil. Gradually stir in mussels, 1/2 the basil, and salt.
• Cover saucepan, and continue cooking about 5 minutes, until the mussels have opened. Garnish with remaining basil to serve.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH LOVAGE

Steps:

• In a large skillet or saucepan fitted with a lid, combine the mussels, wine, shallot, tomato, butter and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the lovage.
• Cover and place over high heat until most of the mussels open. Shake the pan and continue to cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl; sprinkle with the remaining lovage. Serve with bread.

FENNEL-STEAMED MUSSELS, PROVENCE STYLE

Steps:

• Put the oil in a large pot over medium heat; a minute later, add the garlic, fennel, fennel seeds, liqueur, and tomatoes and tarragon if you're using them. Bring to a boil, cook for about a minute, add the mussels, cover the pot, and turn the heat to high.
• Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the mussels open, 5 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mussels and fennel to a serving bowl, then strain any liquid over them and serve.
• Variations
• There are many, many herbs, spices, vegetables, and other seasonings that can lend a licorice flavor, including anise seeds or ground anise; five-spice powder; ouzo or raki, the anise-scented liqueurs of the eastern Mediterranean; and tarragon, chervil, even basil-especially Thai basil. (You could probably throw in a few pieces of Good&Plenty while you're at it.)
• Or you can go super-minimal and make plain steamed mussels. The procedure is the same, but omit all ingredients except mussels, oil, and garlic. Shake the pot a couple of times while cooking. These are great with a little melted butter (laced with minced garlic if you like) drizzled over them and a big loaf of crusty bread.
• Mussels
• Every year, we see more and more cultivated mussels, most often from Prince Edward Island, which is fast becoming the mussel farming capital of North America. These are easy to clean (almost clean enough to eat without washing, but still worth a quick going over), with very few rejects and plump meat. Wild mussels are far tastier but harder to clean.
• When cleaning mussels, discard any with broken shells. If the mussels have beards-the hairy vegetative growth that is attached to the shell-trim them off. Those mussels that remain closed after the majority have been steamed open can be pried open with a knife (a butter knife works fine) at the table.

CHRISTOPHER STYLER'S MUSSELS STEAMED OVER TOMATOES AND FENNEL SEEDS

Steps:

• Rinse the mussels under cold running water. Scrub the shells thoroughly and pull out and discard the beards, the wiry substance that protrudes from between the flat sides of the shell. Drain the mussels thoroughly.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel seed and the parsley. Cook until the fennel is fragrant, but not browned, about 1 minute. Stir in the parsley and cook just until it turns bright green, about 10 seconds. Carefully stir in the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add the wine and cook 1 minute. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Simmer just until the tomatoes are softened and begin to release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add the mussels to the skillet. Cover and steam, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels open, about 4 minutes. Spoon the mussels and the liquid into a bowl and serve.

FENNEL-STEAMED MUSSELS PROVENCAL

Steps:

• Place the oil in a large pot and turn the heat to medium; 1 minute later, add the garlic, fennel, fennel seeds, liqueur, and tomatoes and tarragon if you're using them. Bring to a boil, cook for about 1 minute. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and turn the heat to high.
• Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the mussels open, 5 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the mussels and fennel to a serving bowl, then strain any liquid over them and serve.

MUSSELS WITH FENNEL AND LOVAGE

Steps:

• Heat a large heavy pot over high heat until very hot. Add mussels, fennel, verjus, and wine. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until mussels fully open (discard any that do not open). Using a slotted spoon, transfer mussels and fennel to a serving platter.
• Simmer liquid in pot for 1 minute; whisk in butter and 1/2 cup lovage leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper (and additional vinegar if using grape juice). Spoon over mussels, leaving any sediment behind. Garnish mussels with remaining 1/2 cup lovage leaves and serve immediately.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH FENNEL & TOMATO RECIPE - (4.7/5)

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and fennel; cook until just soft and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and season with salt and pepper; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are just soft, about 4 minutes. Add the vermouth and boil to reduce slightly. Add the tomatoes and tarragon, then cover the pot and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water and the mussels. Raise the heat to high, cover and cook until the mussels open, 3 to 5 minutes. (Check halfway through and transfer any open mussels to a serving bowl.) Transfer all the mussels to a serving bowl, discarding any that do not open. Season the sauce with pepper and, if needed, salt, and pour over the mussels. Serve with the bread. HOW TO CUT "BULB FENNELL" Stand the fennel bulb upright (stems pointing up. Cut down through the bulb, cutting it in half, along the stem line. In other words, you'll be cutting each stem in half as part of the cut. Now look at the inside of the bulb you've exposed. See that triangular thing starting at the bottom of the bulb and pointing upwards? That's the core, which is rock-hard. Cut it out of both halves of the bulb. Now lay each half cut-side-down, stems facing right (or left, and make thin slices. What is "thin"? Try for 1/16" thick, but realize that you can't cut it too thin, and anything 1/8" or thinner is plenty thin enough