Mussel Soup

One of our favorite soups is Soupe aux Moules which is a very popular dish here in Brittany. While every home has its own special way of preparing this you can't go far wrong by following the recipe below:

You will need:

1 kg mussels
150ml white wine
2 potatoes chopped
2 shallots chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 leek chopped
handful sorrel or spinach leaves
3 lettuce leaves
1 sprig of parsley
1 sprig of chervil
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
pinch of sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
fried bread croutons

Wash the mussels well. Put the washed mussels with the wine into a large saucepan and put over a strong heat. As soon as the shells open, remove the mussels with a slotted spoon. Strain the cooking liquid to remove any particles of sand and remove to the pot. Add the potatoes, shallots garlic, leek sorrel, lettuce leaves sprigs of parsley and chervil and the tomato purée. Add 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, season with pepper and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile shell the mussels and set then aside. Purée the soup. Add the mussels and heat through. Check the seasoning, adding a little more if deemed necessary. Stir in the butter. Serve the croûtons separately.

While this is a wonderful soup in its own right, we find that if you add 50g of rochefort cheese, before you purée the soup, it will be transformed into a deliciously tasty and sophisticated dish! If you do this go easy on the sea salt as the rochefort itself is surprisingly salty in the soup. Once you have become accustomed to this try other variations by adding lemon grass or curry or tarragon with cream.