Hi Food Tubers I'm Alex, the French guy cooking and today we're making an all time French classic,
the Moules Marinière, known as mussels in marinière sauce.
Fresh seafood in a buttery white wine and shallot sauce.
So it's tasty, it's cheap, it's easy and it's a French dish that you can make in under 10 minutes.
Come on guys, let's do it.
First up, grab a few shallots and dice them roughly,
bash two cloves of garlic.
Pick up a small bunch of parsley and a stalk of celery.
For both, separate the leaves from the stalks.
We use the fine and tender leaves in the dish but the stalks will pimp and pump up the flavours of a bunch of dried herbs.
So I guess that's it for the 'mise en place',
mise en place?
Yes, mise en place is just a fancy French word for preparation.
But you know it's always good to insert a fancy French word into a cooking conversation
Well I was touche by the chef's mise en place in the cafe but it felt like deja vu.
Yes, maybe that's too much.
Now we need some mussels and I think this seafood is quite amazing.
It's cheap, delicious, versatile and on top of that it's sustainable.
Use about a kilo of mussels for two people.
Start by rinsing them under running, cold water,
give them a good scrub and remove any dirt or fibres.
Very important, discard the broken ones and also the ones that will not close when lightly squeezed.
In a large casserole pan, over a medium heat, add a good knob of butter, I mean a serious one.
Infusing the bunch of dried herbs inside the butter will ensure better distribution of the aromas at the end.
Drop in the shallots and the garlic and cook them until they get soft.
After a few minutes, pour in a good amount of fresh and acidic white wine like Muscadet or Sauvignon or whatever wine you like.
Season well with salt and pepper and let the wine evaporate a bit.
So the amount of wine in this recipe is totally up to you,
I am using half a bottle of it because I like it and also because I want to spare some glasses for the meal.
You can use beer instead or you can use apple cider as well
or if you don't want to use alcohol you can use a pint of vegetable stock and a drizzle of vinegar
and the dish will still be amazing. I'm telling you French cooking is not cast in stone.
What's important is that you own it.
Place the mussels in along with the celery leaves,
cook them covered for about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.
When they open nicely they are ready to go, just discard the closed ones.
It might not be in the classic mussels marinière recipe but I like to add a dash of double cream in mine.
You know, just to make it a bit more naughty and also, because I own it.
Sprinkle that with parsley and stir well to combine all those lovely ingredients together.
The flavours are intense and perfectly balanced but the shallots bring a deep richness.
Yet the white wine and the herbs bring a much appreciated freshness.
Serve them as they are or with french fries on the side.
So guys, that's it. I told you this recipe is nothing difficult and considering the amazing result at the end you should definitely give it a try.
So like, share it on social media and suscribe to Food Tube and to my own cooking channel as well for many more delicious recipes.
Bye bye, salut!