Moules Frites
This preparation of the French classic of steamed mussels with pommes frites (french fries) is not only simple and easy but delicious and dietetic, at least the mussels are :)
Equipment
- Dutch oven or heavy based sauté pan for steaming
- pot for deep frying the fries
Ingredients
MUSSELS
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lbs mussels - cleaned and beards removed (see note)
- 2 lg shallots - finely minced
- 4 - 6 cloves garlic - finely minced
- 1 fresh red chili - roll bsliced the flesh into thin sticks, then stack together and finely chop
- 2 cups dry white wine - ideally Muscadet
- 1 teaspoon Pernod
- salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 1 bunch thyme
- ½ cup crème fraiche
- 2 tablespoon chives - minced
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley - finely chopped
- sliced country-style bread, toasted for serving - see note 3
POMMES FRITES
- 1.5 - 2 lbs Yukon or russet potatoes - peeled, cut into ¼" to ½" batons
- 1-2 qt oil for deep frying - preferably light olive oil
- salt
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley - finely chopped
LEMON AIOLI (see note 2)
- 1 egg yolks
- 1 clove garlic - finely grated
- ¼ cup light olive oil
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice - or more
- Kosher salt
Instructions
BLENDER AIOLI
- Put the egg yolks, garlic and lemon juice, some seasoning and 2 teaspoon oil into a small blender and whizz for a few secs. Then, with the blades still whirling, slowly trickle in the remaining oil until you have a thick, golden emulsion. Spoon into a small bowl, cover and chill.Aioli can be made a day ahead. Keep chilled.
POMMES FRITES
- Peel the potatoes and immediately add them to soak in a bowl of cold water so they do not turn dark while waiting and a great deal of the starch is rinsed away. Cut the ends off the peeled potatoes, slice into ¼" to ½" strips lengthwise and return them to a refreshed bowl of cold water for the same reasons.
- Heat a pot of oil to 375° F. For extra crispiness, we are going to fry the potatoes twice. Remove the potato sticks from the water and lay them out on a dish towel, folding the towel over them and blotting away the water to make them as dry as possible, so as to minimize spattering. CAREFULLY introduce the potatoes in batches to try and maintain the 375°. If you add too many of the cold potatoes at one time, it will lower the temperature of the oil which will keep the potatoes from getting a crisp crust that keeps them from soaking up the oil and becoming oily and soggy. After a bout 1 to 2 minutes, when they are a light golden-brown remove with a slotted spoon to a rack to await their second frying.
MUSSELS
- Put the mussels into a large bowl of ice water. Discard any that remain open when tapped, then drain well and pull away any ‘beards. (Fresh mussels look black and shiny and should only smell pleasantly of the deep sea – the vast majority should be tightly closed. Avoid any that smell ‘fishy’, look dry or are mostly open.)
- Roll the chili in your hands to loosen the seeds, then slit in half and shake out the seeds. Slice the flesh into thin sticks, then stack together and finely chop. Pick over the thyme sprigs, discarding the thick stalks, and pick the parsley leaves from the stalks. Prepare the pommes frites.
- Heat the butter and oil in Dutch oven or heavy-based sauté pan (with a lid) on the stove on low heat.
- Add the minced shallots, garlic and chili. Stirring frequently, cook until translucent and soft.
- Add the white wine and Pernod and bring to a boil to reduce the wine by half. Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper.
- Gently add the mussels to the cooking broth, cover with lid and steam for approximately 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until mussels open. Using a slotted spoon, divide the mussels evenly into four serving bowl, discarding any that remain closed.
- While the mussels are steaming bring the pot of oil back to 375° so you can second-fry the potatoes as soon as you have removed the mussels. This time until they are a dark golden brown. Remove with the slotted spoon back onto the rack, lightly salt and toss with the fresh parsley.
- Add the crème fraiche, chives and whole parsley leaves to the remaining cooking liquid and bring just to a boil while stirring to combine. Pour the sauce over mussels, garner with some of the fresh chopped parsley and serve with the pommes frites and mayonnaise.
Notes
NOTE 1
- Mussels should be very fresh and purchased the day you make them.
- They should feel heavy for their size.
- Choose the smallest mussels you can find, as these will have the sweetest flavor and softest texture.
- Ask your market to only choose those that are closed which means they are still alive. WARNING: Dead mussels should not be cooked and eaten.
- Any that feel suspiciously light, or sound hollow should be thrown out.
- They should be kept on ice all the way up until they enter the broth to steam.
- If you see one or two that have opened, snap the shell with a flick of your finger and if they are still alive, they will close up. If not, discard.
- To save time you can start with ⅔ cup of bottled mayonnaise, just adding the garlic and lemon juice. Know that there is extra sugar and sodium in bottled mayonnaise, which is why I like to make it fresh.
- I like to paint the bread up with a mixture of olive oil and minced garlic and toast it on the grill to give it some charred grill marks.