Parallel Post's Spicy Mussels

Serves six:

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs. black mussels
  • 2-inch piece of ginger root
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass
  • 2 Tbs. chopped garlic
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup fish stock
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 2 lemons
  • 1/8 lb. butter
  1. Clean the mussels in cold water removing anything foreign from the shells. To check for dead mussels, tap them on the sink and notice if they try to close. If they do not budge and remain wide open, discard them. 
  2. Store mussels in the refrigerator covered with a damp towel, but never leave them submerged in water for long periods of time. 
  3. Peel the gingerroot and slice it into thin slices.
  4. Lay the slices flat and slice them thin again to make fine thin strands. 
  5. Peel the tough outer leaves off of the lemongrass. Cut the stalk in to 1-inch sticks. Lightly smash the sticks to let the lemongrass release its flavor.
  6. Heat up a large sauté pan with the olive oil over a medium-high heat.
  7. Add the ginger, lemongrass and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. 
  8. Add the mussels and stir the pan while cooking for an additional minute. 
  9. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. 
  10. Add the fish stock and cover the dish with a lid and cook the mussels for 4 minutes. 
  11. Remove the lid and let the sauce reduce with the mussels. 
  12. Add the butter and stir it in to the broth. Season the broth with salt and pepper to taste. 
  13. When the  2 cups of liquid has reduced by half, add the juice from the lemons and the leaves of the cilantro.
  14. Pour the mussels and the broth in to individual serving bowls.

Fish stock

Ingredients:

  •     5 lbs. white fish bones
  •     1 cup onion (chopped)
  •     1/2 cup celery (chopped)
  •     1/2 cup leek (chopped)
  •     1/2 bulb fennel (chopped)
  •     2 Tbs. olive oil
  •     4 sprigs dill, thyme, and parsley
  •     2 bay leaves
  •     1 bulb garlic (halved)
  •     1 Tbs. white peppercorns
  •     2 Tbs. sea salt
  •     1/2 bottle of white wine
  •     1 cup vermouth
  •     1 gallon water

Instructions:

  1. A light fish stock can be a great base to enhance a variety of sauces.
  2. The key to a fish stock is to gently infuse the flavor of the bones in the liquid, giving you a light, and clear broth.
  3. It is better to use mild fish bones from white fleshed lean fish like snapper, halibut, grouper, and flounder. Stock from oily fish like salmon would be too overpowering.
  4. Wash the bones in cold water to remove any blood that is on them.
  5. Gently sauté the onions, celery, leeks, fennel, garlic, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns and herbs with the olive oil.
  6. When the vegetables have wilted, you can deglaze with the wine and vermouth, until the liquid is almost dry. Add the cold water and bring the stock to a boil.
  7. Turn down to a very gentle simmer, and skim the scum that floats to the surface.
  8. Cook the stock for no more than 45 minutes.
  9. Turn the stock off and let it infuse off the heat for 30 minutes.
  10. Ladle the clear stock through a strainer and discard any of the cloudy solids at the bottom of the pot. This stock can be frozen in small batches until needed.

Recipes from the Parallel Post in Trumbull

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