Moules Marinieres

Moules Marinieres Recipe – Serves 2

The very thought of eating mussels gets me all excited as it nearly always means I am on holiday somewhere! Probably the best mussels I have eaten have been in France; sitting in a bistro bar with a glass of Leffe beer definately springs to mind! However, the last time I ate mussels was at ‘La Grande Braderie’ in Lille last year.

La Braderie is probably one of the largest garage sales in the world as on the first weekend of September, people are allowed to set up stalls on the streets of Lille, and sell whatever old stuff they want to get rid of. Every single street is rammed with people. Not just from Northern France either; people visit from all over France and even Europe flock to Lille for this event. The day soons turns into evening and the party in the streets continues well into the next day.

The traditional dish of the Braderie is Moules Mariniere, and it is customary that all the restaurants that serve mussels for the occasion, pile their mussel shells on the pavements and compete for which one will end up with the biggest pile of shells. Needless to say that it can get a little bit smelly the day after! Here is just one restaurants pile below!   

I’ve tried to recreate a recipe I was given from my friends who live just outside Lille – I have made a few changes but I like to think that this has improved it slightly.. I’m sure being French they wouldn’t agree though! For the frites I actually try and make a slightly healthier version by roasting sliced potato in the oven with some herbsand oil; it isn’t traditional but I prefer it. 

Ingredients for the Mussels

• 1kg mussels
• 1/2 an onion, finely chopped
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp creme fraiche
• 1 handful parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch of thyme
• 1 tsp chives, chopped
• Olive oil
• 150ml white wine (1 glass)
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Black pepper

Ingredients for the Frites

• 2 potatoes, sliced into chip shaped pieces
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 tbsp of Herbs de Provence
• Olive oil

Method

If your having frites with the mussels you need to make these first as they take around 30 minutes to cook in the oven and the mussels only take around 10 minutes to cook. So, place your sliced potatoes onto a roasting tray with the rosemary and Herbs de Provence sprinkled over the top. Coat in olive oil and mix up with your fingers until all are covered, then put them in the oven at 180 C for around 30 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on how thick your chips are and how crispy you like them… just keep checking them.

For the mussels, clean the mussels in cold water, scraping away any barnacles and pulling out the beards that protrude from between the closed shells. If any mussels are slightly open, a short tap should make them close, letting you know they are still alive. Any that dont close should be discarded.

Heat up the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Now add in the mussels, give the pan a shake and cover for a further 2 minutes. Take off the lid, pour in the wine, cook and cover for a further 3 minutes. Pour the mussels into a colander, ensuring that you retain the juice falls in a dish. Add the sauce back to the pan and stir in the creme fraiche and all the herbs. Heat up the sauce and add the mussels back to the pan briefly to ensure everything is piping hot. Squeeze some lemon over the mussels and your done

Serve the mussels with bread/frites, a side bowl to place the shells and a bowl with water and a slice of lemon to clean your fingers. 

Authentic Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry – Serves 2

If I have a signature dish then this is definately it. Just ask pretty much any of my friends who have been round for dinner; they’ve all had this cooked for them at some point, and there’s a running joke that it’s the only thing I can cook! I first learnt how to make this on a cooking course in Thailand (Koh Phi Phi) back in 2006 and it’s been my favourite dish to make ever since. In fact it’s probably down to this cooking course that I became interested in cooking, and in particular fuelled my fascination for international food. 

The great thing about Thai curries is that you can make them as spicy or as mild as you like – in Thailand they have them hot, and I do mean HOT! Nearly all of the ingredients used should be fairly accessible – if your struggling, you can replace the galagal with ginger and use normal basil leaves instead of the Thai sweet basil although it will give the curry a slightly different taste. If you live near a specialist oriental store then get yourself down there and see what you can find!

 

 Ingredients for the Paste

• 3 large green chillies (to taste), seeds removed & finely chopped 
• 1 tsp grated galangal (ginger is a good substitute)
• 2 tsp lemongrass, finely chopped
• 3 kaffir limeleaves, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp shallot, finely chopped
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 handfulls of Thai sweet basil, roughly chopped

 Ingredients for the Curry

• 2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 400ml can of coconut milk
• 1 green curry paste recipe (see above)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (for frying)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 handful green beans, cut in half
• 1 small tin of bamboo shoots
• 1 small handful basil leaves, for garnishing
• Red chilli flakes or finely chopped fresh red chilli to garnish (optional)

Method

Step 1
First make the paste. Take all the ingredients for the paste (except the oil) and put them into a pestle and mortar and give them a good bashing. Add the oil and continue to pound the ingredients until you have a smooth paste consistency. You can use a food processor if you like but I just love using my pestle and mortar. I usually use all of the paste in one go, but if you want to make extra, you can stick the paste into a container, cover with oil and it should last for a week or so in the fridge.

Step 2
Now for the curry itself. On a low heat, add the oil and all of the green curry paste into a pan and mix well – this will ensure that the flavour of the paste will really come out in the chicken. Add the chicken and fry on a low / medium heat until the chicken is starting to cook through.

Step 3
Give the can of coconut milk a good shake and add to the pan, along with the fish sauce and the sugar and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Just before the chicken has cooked, add in the bamboo shoots and green beans, and simmer until the green beans are cooked but still retain their ‘bite’.

Serving Suggestion
I usually serve this curry with rice, although it works just as well with noodles or some type of roti / flatbread. Garnish the curry with a few basil leaves, a wedge of lime and a sprinkle of red chilli flakes.

Note: It actually doesn’t matter if you use only red chillies as it is the basil that gives the colour, not the chilli – in fact I think a mixture gives a great colour to the dish.