Mussels with poulette sauce
serves
6
Mussels with poulette sauce
“Many places along the coast of Normandy and the Somme are famous for their rope-grown mussels (moules de bouchot). This mussel dish includes the cream, butter and cider typically used in the area along with chicken stock and a few bacon lardons for good measure” - Rick Stein. This is an edited extract from Rick Stein’s Secret France by Rick Stein with photography by James Murphy (BBC Books, $49.99).
Ingredients (13)
- 40g butter
- 75g unsmoked bacon lardons
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 200ml dry cider
- 225ml chicken stock
- 2kg mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 225g full-fat crème fraîche
- 1 egg yolk
- Juice of ¼ lemon
- Small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Bread, to serve
Don't forget you can add these ingredients to your Woolworths shopping list.
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1.Melt the butter in a pan. Add the lardons and shallot and fry over medium heat for 5 minutes until shallot is softened, but not coloured. Add bay leaf, thyme and cider, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
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2.Add the stock and bring to the boil, then add the mussels. Cover pan with a lid and steam mussels for 4-5 minutes until they’ve all opened. Using a slotted spoon, remove mussels and set aside to keep warm while you finish the sauce.
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3.Mix crème fraîche, egg yolk and a ladleful of stock in a bowl. With the pan over low-medium heat, whisk mixture into cooking liquid, keeping an eye on it to prevent the sauce from splitting. Don’t allow it to boil. Season with salt and pepper and add lemon juice and half the parsley.
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4.Return mussels to the pan and stir to coat in sauce. Spoon into warmed bowls and garnish with remaining parsley. Serve with hunks of warm bread to mop up the juices.
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