MOULES MARINIERES AND FRITES

Appetisers / MOULES MARINIERES AND FRITES

Seasonal fresh mussels in a creamy white wine sauce, served with crispy French fries.
Recipe by Christophe Vrignaud of agnes b. Le Pain Grille.

Prep mussels

Scrub and debeard mussels. Discard chipped or damaged mussels.
For open mussels, tap hard on shell with back of knife. Safe mussels should close.
Gently slide mussels sideways with fingers. Live mussels give resistance; unusable mussels slide open easily. Rinse in cold water. Drain and set aside.

Cutting potato

Scrub and peel potato. Cut along sides of potato into shape of a brick. Cut into even sticks. Place in water to release starch until water is cloudy.
Rinse, repeat twice. Drain and lay flat on paper towels. Pat until thoroughly dry.

Deep-fry

Fill large saucepan/wok with oil. Leave at least 8-10 cm from oil to rim of saucepan, as oil will rise.
Heat to 180°C on medium heat. Gently add potato and stir for 2-3 mins until blonde in colour. Lower heat if they brown quickly.
Remove with slotted spoon, blot dry with paper towel.

Re-fry

Let fries cool to room temperature, or preferably freeze for 2-3 hours.
Heat oil to 200°C on high heat, transfer fries to oil. Stir for 1 min or until soft and golden brown.
Remove and pat with paper towel. Season with salt.

Cooking mussels

On low heat, saute garlic and shallots in butter without browning. Add bay leaf and thyme, saute 1 min.
On medium heat, add wine and bring to boil. Add cream, reduce for 1 min.
Add mussels, cover and gently simmer 3 mins. Stir until open. Reduce heat if sauce boils.

Arrangement

Remove herbs, add chopped parsley, season with pepper and mix well.
Discard unopened mussels. Transfer the rest to a bowl, leaving sauce behind.
Reduce sauce further if needed. Pour sauce through a fine sieve onto mussels to remove sand.

INGREDIENTS

WINE PAIRING

MUSIC PAIRING

WHERE TO BUY

PREP TIME & COOK TIME