Mussels With Aquavit Cream And Tarragon Recipes

MUSSELS IN CURRY CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook shallots and garlic in simmering wine until translucent.
• Stir in cream and curry powder. When sauce is heated through, add mussels. Cover, and steam mussels for a few minutes, until their shells open wide. With a slotted spoon, transfer steamed mussels to a bowl, leaving the sauce in the pan. Discard any unopened mussels.
• Whisk butter into the cream sauce. Turn heat off, and stir in parsley and green onions. Serve immediately.

MUSSELS IN WINE AND CREAM

Steps:

• Put the olive oil and butter/margarine into a good sized frying pan (with a lid) and then fry, not too quickly, the chopped garlic and shallots.
• When the shallots and garlic are just transparent, (about two minutes), add the water, wine, bay leaf, parsley and mussels.
• Add ground pepper to taste and pour cream over the mussels.
• Cover pan with lid, over moderate to high heat.
• When liquid starts to steam, keep over the heat, constantly shaking the pan until all (or at least most) of the shells open.
• This will only take three, or four minutes.
• Do not overcook and avoid letting the liquid boil.
• You will hear the shells crack open and when most have opened, remove from heat.
• Too much cooking will only make them tough.
• Serve immediately (only the ones that opened) in bowls with plenty of sauce and crisp fresh bread.

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 TARRAGON CREAM

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the chopped carrot, onion, and celery, and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, clean the mussels by rinsing them under the cold tap. Make sure all the shells are tightly closed and discard any that don't shut when tapped. Add the mussels to the pan with the white wine, cover, and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and let the mussels steam away for 5-10 minutes, or until they've all opened. Discard any mussels that have remained closed.
• Stir through the cream, tarragon, lemon juice and add a couple of grinds of black pepper. Heat the mussels and sauce through and serve along with some crusty bread.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH WHITE WINE, TARRAGON, SHALLOTS, BUTTER, AND GRILLED FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Heat grill to high. Sprinkle garlic with a pinch of salt and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the garlic to a coarse paste. Heat the oil in a stockpot on the grates of the grill, add the shallots and garlic and cook until shallots soften. Add the wine, bring to a boil and stir in the mussels. Cover the pot and cook the mussels until all of them have opened, about 6 to 8 minutes, discard any that do not open.
• Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer and whisk in the butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and stir in the tarragon. Pour the mixture over the mussels and serve immediately with grilled bread.
• Brush cut side of baguette with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill, cut side down until lightly golden brown.

MUSSEL AND CARROT SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook shallots, ginger, garlic, and curry powder, stirring, until shallots are golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in wine, tarragon, and mussels and cook, covered, until mussels just open wide, checking frequently after 3 minutes and transferring opened mussels to a bowl. (Discard any mussels that remain unopened after 6 minutes.) Add stock, carrot juice, and clam juice to pot and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
• Whisk lime juice into sour cream in a small bowl. Add lime mixture in a stream to soup, whisking until smooth, then season with salt and pepper. Return mussels to pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until just heated through (do not let boil).

MUSSELS WITH AQUAVIT, CREAM, AND TARRAGON

Steps:

• Throw out any mussels with cracked shells or that did not close when you scrubbed them.
• Heat the butter over medium heat in a pot just large enough to hold the mussels. Sauté the shallots and garlic for 4 to 5 minutes. Add half the tarragon, the thyme, vinegar, fennel seeds, aquavit, and mussels. Increase the heat to medium-high. Cover and let steam for 6 to 7 minutes, until the mussels have opened. With a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a large serving bowl; discard any that did not open.
• Add the cream to the cooking juices and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, until slightly reduced. Season with salt and a little more minced garlic, if desired. Pour the cooking juices over the mussels, sprinkle with the rest of the tarragon, and serve.