Cooking mussels

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COOKING MUSSELS

Jamie Oliver Calendar
Ready in 30 minutes
For 1 snack: 4 persons
Posted by Never Trust a Skinny Cook
27 December 2006

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Jamie Oliver Calendar

As promised a long time ago in June, for those who don't have a Jamie Oliver Calendar, we will post at least 1 Jamie Oliver recipe as seen on TV.

Cooking mussels by Jamie Oliver: different on TV than in the book

Writing down Jamie Oliver recipes as they appear on TV can be a daunting task if you don't have a recorder. On top of that, the Jamie Oliver recipes in his books seem to differ from what Jamie Oliver says on TV. The same happens with this recipe from the Naked Chef 2, where suddenly oil is added with the butter for simmering the leek (which is smart so the butter doesn't burn, yet why not sharing this good tip on TV?) Also the amount of cream in Jamie Oliver's recipe in the book is 50% more than on TV. (According to the Naked Chef 2: you use 1/4 pint of cream, which boils down to about 120 ml)

Cooking mussels in general

2 different Jamie Oliver recipes for the same dish... This all means that cooking is not rocket science: especially when it comes to cooking mussels: the taste comes from the mussels, no matter how much more butter and cream you add. The idea is to dip a loaf of bread in the creamy mussels sauce and enjoy a nice snack, starter or side-dish.

Cooking mussels goes until you see the mussels open by themselves.

Cooking mussels for a party!

This Jamie Oliver recipe is a litthe dish ideal for a dinner party:

you can make the creamy sauce way ahead in advance

cooking the mussels just when you are about to serve them

you can serve the creamy mussels in a big bowl and put in the middle of the table, so everybody can join in gathered around this creamy mussels dish.

New Zealand Green lipped mussels

If you live in New Zealand, you are so lucky to get the green lipped mussel freshly provided. In Malaysia there is not much Sea Mussel available, and these New Zealand green lipped mussels are mostly frozen when shipped. What is good about green lipped mussels is that they contain a high dose of "glycosaminoglycan", which helps to keep the cartilage between your joints, meaning you will get osteoarthritis at a later age, that is if you will ever get osteoarthritis.

Cooking Mussels : ingredients

4 stems of leek: the softer top green part chopped as fine as possible, the rest chopped finely
2 big cloves of garlic, sliced
3 oz (100gr) butter
2 pounds 1/2 (1.250 kg) mussels washed and cleaned
3 ounces (100 ml) Marsala (or sherry, or champagne or white wine)
3 ounces (100 ml) cream

Cooking Mussels : preparation

Do the butter in a big pot and add leek, a good pinch of sea salt and a good pinch of pepper. Add garlic and simmer on a very low fire for about 5 minutes and stir occasionally.
Add the alcohol and stir for about 30 seconds (until no more alcohol can be smelled)
Add the cream, bring to a boil. Use now for cooking mussels or set aside for later.

Cooking mussels

Make sure the creamy liquid is cooking. Then add mussels, put a lid on
the pot and cook for about 5 minutes until the mussels open.

More Jamie Oliver recipes, cooking recipes or food recipes:

Quick Dinner recipes 2006: Jamie Oliver recipes: for our December 2006 Jamie Oliver Calendar : Cooking Mussels