In a prior post, Mussels with Chorizo & Red Chiles I explained that Baby Lady loved mussels. She really does. So, it wasn’t surprising when she was in charge of the menu and everything else that Baby Lady chose to fix mussels for dinner last night as I toiled away at the things that make me a living.

This is a wonderful dish and easy to make. Except for disgorging the mussels, the whole thing takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. Coupled with a nice crusty piece of sourdough bread, it just doesn’t get better than this. Baby Lady urges you to try this. You will like it. I did. 🙂

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Mussels
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tomato, seeded and diced
• 1/2 medium white onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp old bay
• 1 cup dry white wine (preferably Chardonnay)
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp Italian parsley, chopped

Instructions

Clean mussels and place in a large bowl filed with cold water. Add 1/3 cup of flour to disgorge mussels. Some people will suggest you use cornmeal. We use flour because it is finer, not grainy, the mussels seem to ingest it better and plump up. Also, every now and then a mussel will ingest a lot of the flour. When cooked you get a delicious, fat, little mussel dumpling treat, like below:

Let the mussels sit in the water roughly 45 minutes to disgorge any sand or dirt.

While the mussels are disgorging, prep your veggies. Mince the garlic and onion. Dice the tomato. Take the lemongrass and cut off the bottom 1-1/2 inch. Measure a length of the stalk approximately 6″ from the bottom and cut. Cut stalk into 1-1/2 inch pieces, then slice in half and pound with the back of your knife to crush the fibers.

When the mussels are ready, heat the olive oil in the pan over medium high heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted add the onions and sweat. Next add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes to infuse the oil and onions. Add the tomatoes, lemongrass and thyme and cook another 2 minutes to allow the tomatoes to break down. Add the Old Bay seasoning and wine and bring to a simmer. Add the mussels, cover and let cook for approximately 4 minutes over medium heat until all the mussels have opened. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a serving bowl, leaving the pot and juices. Taste, the juices and season with additional salt and red pepper flakes, as needed. Pour juices over the mussels. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with bread to soak up the fabulous broth and enjoy.