I have to admit that my love for mussels borders on gastronomically insurmountable limits. As good as it is pretty and cheap, the Galician mussel—don’t be fooled by this, as not all the ones you see at the fishmonger or the supermarket are Galician mussels—are a all-terrain seafood, versatile and grateful which a few minutes of cooking turn into a delicacy.
Exactly what happens with this recipe for steamed mussels, as easy as it is quick, and which solves the appetizer in just 10 minutes and allows you to look like a true king. without more effort than a casserolea little water and our beloved mussels.
Then, to taste, you can do whatever you want with them and accompany them with whatever you like the most, although alone they work wonderfully. The key is that they are cooked in their own juice, with just four fingers of water.
It is not about drowning the musselbut to generate steam that allows them to open and then pour the intervalvar water—that very powerful broth that they gather inside—into the cooking liquid itself.
Also in the casserole, to taste, you can add whatever seasoning you want. A a little bay leaf, some peppercorns, some other aromatic or simply the classic touch of white wine – an Albariño or a Ribeiro would go wonderfully – in that water it will multiply the Galician touch. Also, even the most risky ones directly generate that steam with the wine itself, also giving a magnificent result.
Besides, if we want something more robust, in these steamed mussels we can add a few drops of distillate like a little brandy or even a little whiskey, where if we look for a little smoke it will also work wonderfully.
Then, keep it in its casserole and serve directly, mounting them on fries type chips or without getting complicated and opting directly to eat the Galician mussel from its own shells so as not to have to use cutlery or chopsticks.
Visol Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2016
*Some prices may have changed since the last review
As a pairing, nothing usually works better with Galician mussels than recovering a good wine from the DO Rias Baixas or the white wine from the DO Ribeiro itself. However, as always happens with seafood, pairing it on the table with a sparkling like a good cava —for example, a superior cellar with more than 30 months of aging—would be a fabulous option like this Visol Brut Nature Gran Reserva from Bodegas Mestres.
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