This is great as a starter and a meal to share.
Recipe by Illanique van Aswegen
Beer-steamed mussels with mango salsa
Ingredients
SALSA
- 65g (½ cup) baby tomatoes, halved
- 80ml red pepper, finely diced
- 100g (½ cup) mango, finely diced
- 2,5ml (½ tsp) green chilli, finely chopped
- juice and zest of ½ small lemon
- 10ml (2 tsp) chives, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
MUSSELS
- 5ml (1 tsp) olive or avocado oil
- ¼ medium onion, finely chopped
- 5ml (1 tsp) crushed garlic
- 5ml (1 tsp) fresh ginger, finely grated
- ½ stalk fresh lemongrass, thinly
- sliced into rounds
- 125ml (½ cup) beer
- 500g fresh mussels, cleaned
- 60ml (¼ cup) cream
- fresh coriander, to serve
- fresh crusty bread, to serve
Instructions
For the salsa, combine all of the ingredients and season.
For the mussels, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and stir in the onion, garlic, ginger and lemongrass. Fry for 2 minutes.
Add the beer and cleaned mussels. Cover with a lid and allow the mussels to steam until they are opened and cooked through, 5 – 10 minutes.
Discard any mussels that did not open and stir in the cream.
Top the mussels with the salsa and scatter fresh coriander over. Serve with crusty bread to mop up all the yummy juices.
Notes
Before you start cooking the mussels, give them a quick rinse and scrub, remove the stringy beards and tap them lightly to close. Discard any mussels that don’t close. If you don’t enjoy the flavour of beer, simply replace it with a white wine of your choice.
