Mussels are not just tasty, they are also very good for you. They contain high quality nutrients, such as proteins, minerals (iodine, phosphorous, selenium, copper and iron) and vitamins A, B, C and D. Furthermore they contain very little fat – only four percent! And this fat is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which lower cholesterol levels.

Mussels are simple and quick to prepare:
Take a large pan with a little water, beer or wine. Add roughly chopped onion, leek, carrot, celery and a bay leaf. Season with pepper. Add (for two people) two kilos of mussels. With the lid on the pan, bring them to the boil three times. Shake each time. After around five minutes the mussels will have opened, at which point they are ready. Never cook the mussels longer than eight minutes. Serve the mussels with chips or French bread, salad and a selection of sauces.

Here are five more delicious mussel recipes.

1. Mussel casserole
2. Savoury tart with mussels
3. Mussel and asparagus soup
4. Mussel stew
5. Spaghetti sauce with mussels

1. Mussel casserole

Ingredients

• 250 g rice
• 2 kg fresh Qualimer Mussels
• 150 g cubes of smoked bacon
• 1 carton of crème fraîche or a packet of cream cheese
• 2 big onions
• 1 carrot
• 1 leek
• 1 ½ dl cooking liquid from the mussels or fish stock
• 175 g young mature cheese
• 1 dl. dry white wine
• 1 or 2 dsps Qualimer Mussel herbs
• 2 cloves garlic
• freshly ground black pepper
• oil/butter

Wash the rice and drain in a colander. Cook the fresh mussels and remove them from their shells. Keep a few for the garnish.

Strain the cooking liquid. Soften the vegetables and garlic for a few minutes in some oil or butter, add the rice and fry gently with the vegetables.
Add the cooking liquid from the mussels, the white wine and the mussel herbs. Place the lid on the pan and cook the rice in around 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon cubes. Stir the crème fraîche or cream cheese, the grated cheese, the mussels and the bacon into the cooked rice.  Season to taste with fresh pepper and a dash of sambal oelek.

Turn into a serving dish and garnish with a few mussel shells. Delicious with a glass of dry white wine. [top]

2. Savoury tart with mussels

Ingredients

• ½ packet of white bread mix
• 50 g soft butter or margarine
• luke warm water
• 200 g fresh spinach
• 1 dsp olive oil
• 150 g cubes of smoked bacon
• 2 red onions
• 150 g shiitake or button mushrooms
• 200 g cooked mussels without shell
• 150 g cream cheese with garlic and herbs
• 2 eggs
• salt, freshly ground pepper
• beaten egg

Make a supple dough with the bread mix, butter and water according to the instructions on the packet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place. Heat the washed spinach until it shrinks, drain in a colander and press out all the cooking liquid. Heat the oil and gently fry the bacon. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Finely chop the onions and fry in the bacon fat. Add the sliced shiitake and fry for another 2 minutes. Stir in the bacon, cream cheese and beaten egg and turn off the heat. Knead the dough, roll out thinly and line a 28 cm tart dish. Prick a few holes in the base with a fork, mix the spinach and the cooled filling and spoon into the tart base. Crisscross leftover pastry strips over the tart to form a lattice pattern. Cover the tart and allow to rise for another half an hour. Brush with some beaten egg and bake in the middle of a hot oven (210ºC) for around 40 minutes until the dough is golden brown. Delicious with a glass of dry white wine. [top]

3. Mussel and asparagus soup

Ingredients

• 50 g butter
• 60 g flower
• 1 litre vegetable stock (or cube)
• 2 shallots
• knob of butter
• 75 g lean smoked bacon cubes
• 100 g cooked mussels
• 200 g grated young mature cheese
• 1 tin of asparagus
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 dl cream
• finely chopped parsley or chives

Melt the butter, add the flour and cook for a minute. Add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil whisking continuously and simmer for around 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Finely chop the shallots and add them with the bacon, mussels and grated cheese to the sauce mixture.

Cut the asparagus in pieces and add them with the liquid from the can to the soup. Heat through again, but not for too long to prevent the mussels becoming tough. Finally, mix the egg yolk with the cream and stir into the soup. Remember: do not let the soup boil at that point. Garnish with parsley and/or chives. [top]

4. Mussel stew

Ingredients

• 2 kg mussels in the shell
• 50 g butter
• 8 onions
• 4 carrots
• 1 leek
• 1 celeriac and some pieces of celery
• Qualimer Mussel herbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 glass dry white wine
• 2 ½ dl cream
• a little cornflour

Rinse the Qualimer mussels under cold water. Do not leave in the water. Finely chop the onions and roughly chop the rest of the vegetables. Heat the butter in the pan and fry 2 onions, 1 carrot, the leek and the celery. Add half of the Qualimer mussel herbs and the glass of white wine. Bring this to the boil and pour in the mussels. Shake up and down three times and bring back to the boil; when the shells open, the mussels are ready. Remove the mussels from their shells and strain the cooking liquid. Cook the rest of the vegetables in the strained liquid until they are almost done. Then add the other half of the mussel herbs and the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper and bind with a little cornflour mixed with water. Return the mussels to the pan and heat through (very quickly). Serve with thinly sliced pain de campagne from Zeeland and mustard or with potato puree. [top]

5. Spaghetti sauce with mussels

Ingredients

• 150 g lean bacon cubes
• 1 red onion
• 250 g shiitake mushrooms
• 2 dsps olive oil
• 1 can of tomato puree
• 3 dl whipping cream
• 200 g Dutch goat’s cheese in cubes
• 2 dl. dry white wine
• 300 g cooked shelled mussels
• 4 dsps finely chopped chivess

Fry the bacon and remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Finely chop the onion and slice the shiitakes. Add 2 dessertspoons of olive oil to the bacon fat and fry the onion and shiitakes. Remove from the pan with the slotted spoon. Add the tomato puree to the remaining fat, stirring continuously. Add the cream, goat’s cheese and the wine. Mix well. Heat the sauce till it almost comes to the boil. Add the bacon and the onion/shiitake mixture. Then add the cooked mussels and the chives. Heat through briefly. If necessary, bind the sauce with a little cornflour blended with a little water.

Serve the sauce with (green) spaghetti. [top