Moules à la Crème

Hardware

• Large Sauce Pan (at least 6qt)
• Roux Whisk
• Slotted Spoon
• A Large Bowl
• A Sharp Knife 🙂

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb Mussels, Cleaned (clean shells, removed beard, cold water only.)
  • Most places sell them “farmed”, so they’re pretty clean already)
• 3 T Butter
• 3 Large Shallots, Sliced Very Thin
• 3 Garlic Cloves, Sliced Very Thin
• 1 Fennel Bulb, Herbs Reserved, Bulb Diced
• 2 Dried Bay Leaves
• 4 Stems of Fresh Thyme
• 1 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Stemmed, Leaves Minced
• 3 C Dry Chardonnay (or Sav Blanc)
• 1 C Water
• 2 C Crème Fraîche
• 1-2 T Buerre Manié (1T of soft butter and 1T of flour mashed together into a ball)
• Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Peppercorn Medley, to taste

Directions

1. Heat the Butter in the Sauce Pan over medium heat, until it just starts to bubble.
2. Add the Shallots, Garlic, Fennel Bulb, Bay, Thyme and stir until glossy (sweated).
3. Add water and wine and bring to a simmer for a few minutes to let some of the alcohol steam-out.
4. Add the Mussels and cover to steam, about 3 minutes, until they open (check on them, it may take less and you do not want to overcook them).
   • Turn off the heat
5. Remove the Mussels quickly to the separate bowl.
   • Turn heat back on to medium
6. Add the Buerre and whisk for a few minutes
7. Add Crème and whisk.
8. Allow sauce to reduce enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon
9. Add the Parsley.
10. Correct with salt and pepper
11. Pour the whole mess of top of the Mussel bowl, garnish with fennel herb
12. Serve with toasted baguette, cut on the bias (at an angle to make each piece longer)

If an uncooked mussel is open, and doesn’t close after you tap on it, toss it out. If it’s closed after you cook it, toss it out.

Love, Jimi

Notes

• Sour Cream (not low-fat) can be subbed for Crème Fraîche.
• If the fennel is dummy-thicc, use about half. Focus on the white part.
• You can use 4 Cups of wine and none of the dairy (or flour) and you get a lighter, more Northern Italian version of this (a pinch of crushed red pepper couldn’t hurt)
  • Yes, it’s awesome on linguine.
• Could you do this with champagne? Why yes, you can and probably should at some point, you fancy little fuck.

It’s funny, Jen is a raw-oyster slut, but doesn’t care for steamed mussels… ain’t that a kick in the bearded clam? HAHA! I’ll be here all of forever, until the internet shuts down.

This is not funny. At all.