Moules mariniere with pommes pailles
Ingredients
- 2kg fresh mussels
- 50ml butter
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- ½ celery stalk
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 410ml white wine
- 6 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 190ml (¾ cup) thick fresh cream
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 10ml (2 tsp) fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- POMMES PAILLES (SHOESTRING FRIES)
- 600g large potatoes
- oil, for deep-frying
- sea salt and smoked paprika, to serve
Instructions
Scrub the mussels well and remove their beards. Throw away any that are already open.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and gently cook the onion and celery until soft, adding the garlic halfway through.
Add the wine, bay leaves and thyme and bring to the boil. Add the mussels, cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Lift the mussels out as they open and place them in a serving dish. Throw away any that have not opened.
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean pot, removing any grit and sand. Add the cream, season, and gently reheat the sauce without letting it boil.
Pour the sauce over the mussels and set aside to keep warm.
For the pommes pailles, peel the potatoes and slice into chips 0,5cm wide. Place in a bowl of cold water.
Heat the oil to very hot. Drain and dry the chips and fry in batches, draining each batch on paper towel. Refry until the chips are brown and crispy.
Serve the mussels sprinkled with the parsley, and the pommes pailles sprinkled with the sea salt and smoked paprika.
