When I was invited for a workshop on ‘Zeeuwse Mosselen’ aka Zeeland Mussles, I was quick to reply. I am not the biggest fan of mussels but do appreciate a nice pot of them from time to time. I love when mussels are prepared in an non classical way and I was really curious about what chef Jo Bussels from Love Fish would prepare for us.
Foodbloggers at work
The nice thing about mussels is that you can now easily find them at the larger supermarkets and it is very easy to prepare them. You just must make sure to rince them well before using. My favorite ways to prepare them is with lemon oil, basil and tomatoes or with an Asian twist.
Mussels with tomato coulis, olives and orange
When I arrived a little later then foreseen, my fellow foodbloggers were getting the introduction about the great concept of Love Fish by chef Jo. I have written about this restaurant after it first opened and have heard a lot of comments since then. Some people really need to get used to the concept but once they get the hang of it they gladly return to this place for a quick lunch or a healthy dinner. And the good news is….soon there will be mussels on the menu in small appetizer portions so this will be a great way to try out different types of preparations.
The key is butter
Chef Jo proposed us the following types of preparations of mussels:
– with bacon, red oinion,(candied) tomato and basil
-with green apple, smoked eel and lemon zeste
– with green herbs coulis
-with fennel, vanilla and lemon balm
-with a tomato coulis, orange and olives
Green Mussels
The base for great mussels is celery, red onion, a pinch of cayenne and butter. I would use dairy free butter or olive oil but real butter will give your mussels a much richer taste. Let this simmer and then you add the mussels and the rest of the ingredients according to the recipe.
Very Fresh and Tasty mussels with smoked eel and apple – Yummie!!!
I will share my favorite recipe with you here. If you like more information about the other preparations, don’t hesitate to contact me.
- 1kg Zeeland mussels
- 1 dl dry white wine
- 50 gr butter
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch of curry powder
- 50 gr smoked eel cut into pieces
- 50 gr Grany Smith apple peeled and cut into small cubes
- 2 branches of celery cut into very fine pieces
- zeste and juice of ½ lemon
- Rinse the mussels and cook them with the butter, cayenne, curry and white wine.
- When the mussels are ready add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
- Cover and let this rest for a couple of minutes.
- Serve when all mussels are open.
- Enjoy!
Thanks again to Yannick and Lien from RCA and special thanks to chef Jo for this great evening!
Love Fish – Godefriduskaai 12, 2000 Antwerpen www.lovefish.be