Cold Weather, Cozy Food
I’ve been lucky enough the past two weeks to get weeknight dinner invitations from friends who love to cook, and I’m still craving the food we had last night.
This friend - call her the mysterious Madame M. - knows that mussels are a great way to feed a group of friends. If mussels are exotic to you, you’re in for a treat - they’re a great dinner party choice because they’re inexpensive for shellfish, and, served with salad and lots of baguette for soaking up sauce, they’re a simple and delicious meal that doesn’t require a lot of prep or cooking time.
Madame M. made her mussels with an unusual creamy saffron, fennel and spinach sauce. After waking up this morning with a hankering of more mussels for breakfast (one I didn’t indulge in), I e-mailed her to ask for the recipe. She got the recipe from a British cookbook, A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gingell, the chef of a cafe at Petersham Nurseries in Surrey. Sorry I didn’t take any photos last night. I didn’t have my camera. I was also too busy slurping up mussels and chasing every drop of sauce around my bowl with bread to care.
Gingell’s recipe is geared toward metric system users, e.g. in grams and the like, so after a bit of Internet tinkering and conversion, this is what I’ve come up. If you like mussels, make this recipe this weekend - it’s a warming antidote to the chilly weather. Madame M. wrote that she wants to eat them again tonight. Me, too.
Mussels with Fennel, Saffron and Spinach
Serves 4
About 2 pounds live mussels (half a pound per person)
1 glass of dry white wine
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
4 bay leaves
a few thyme sprigs
10 black peppercorns
1 medium fennel bulb
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp saffron threads
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup water
1 cup creme fraiche
1/3 pound baby spinach, well washed (a few handfuls, basically)
First clean the mussels thoroughly. Remove the tenacious beards, then pull away any seaweed attached to the shell and wash the shells well under cold running water.
Pour the wine into a large heavy-based saucepan, add the shallots, bay leaves, thyme and peppercorns and bring to a summer. Tip the mussels into the pan, increase the heat slightly and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan now and then to give the mussels room to open.
Meanwhile, prepare the fennel. Trim off the base and discard the fibrous outer layer, then slice finely.
Remove the lid from the pan and tip the mussels into a colander set over a bowl to catch the liquid. Wipe out the saucepan and return to a low heat. Add the butter and once it has melted, put in the fennel slices, saffron and a little salt and pepper (remembering that the mussels may be quite salty.) Sweat gently for about 10 minutes until the fennel is soft.
Meanwhile, discard any unopened mussels. Strain the mussel cooking liquor and add it to the fennel with the water and crème fraîche. Stir well and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then add the spinach and mussels. Cook for a further minute to wilt the spinach and warm the mussels through.
Ladle into warm bowls and serve with crusty white bread and unsalted butter.
