Moules Frites- Mussels & Chips

Moules frites is one of the most popular dishes in Brittany. The mussels are served in a variety of sauces and if your lucky you will also be offered a delicious aioli with your chips. Here we offer you the recipes to do it all from your home kitchen: 

Ingrédients 

Mussels in saffron and chili

serves 4 ingredients

1 kg / 2.2 lb of fresh mussels 1/2 bottle of dry white wine

1 chopped shallot onions

1 small leek

1 clove garlic

1 sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

10 black pepper corns Vegetable oil to fry

After the mussels are cooked 

sprinkle of saffron

1/2 cup of fresh cream bunch of chives

1 fresh not too strong chili pepper

Salt & pepper and lemon juice to taste

Method Cooking Mussels 

Rinse the mussels in cold water removing all beards and algae. Discard any lifeless mussels which refuse to close. Store in a cold place.

Chop up the onion, leeks and garlic.

In a large pot, heat vegetable oil and add all ingredients except wine and chives. Mix well and don't overheat. Add the white wine and mussels. Boil for 5 minutes or when the mussels have opened. Discard any which have not opened.

When the mussels have cooked, strain and put aside.

Reheat the stock and add saffron; reduce to the desired flavour.

Reintroduce the mussels to the stock and reheat, serve in 4 big deep plates and sprinkle the chives and chili over the top and serve with homemade chips and aioli.

Method  Home Made Chips

serves 4

1 kg 2.5 lp of big potatoes suitable for chips ( very important)

Vegetable oil preferably using a deep fat fryer

Method

Peel and cut the potatoes to preferred size. Next rinse the raw chips in plenty of cold water, 2-3 times to get the starch out. It can be done in the morning or the day before, but leave them in water until ready to use.

When ready to use heat up vegetable oil suitable for frying or use a deep fat fryer with a thermostat. Dry the potatos in a tea towel so when you put them in the hot oil it doesn’t burn you.

Heat up the fryer to 160C / 320F and cook the chips for 10-15 minutes; take them out of the oil and let them rest till the main dinner is ready. Switch off heat.

When ready to serve reheat the fryer to 180C / 350F and cook the chips again until golden brown. Sprinkle some salt over the chips and serve immediately.

TIP

Home cooked chips are absolutely delicious when prepared this way. Deep  fry outside if you don’t want the smell of cooking oil to linger inside your kitchen!

Method  Aioli Sauce  serves 4 persons

Ingredients 

2 cloves of garlic

2 egg yolks

250 ml / 1 cup of olive oil-not strong flavour or vegetable oil 1/2 a lemon

1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

salt & pepper

Method

Crush the garlic and place in a bowl; add the egg yolks and mustard; whisk it all together. Add the juice from the 1/2 of lemon and then slowly add the oil and whisk it up like a normal mayonnaise. Flavour with salt and pepper as desired.

Tip. Fresh aioli is a treat used as a mayonnaise and will Ker for up to three days in a fridge. 

Recommend Wines;

Dry Muscadet, Chablis, Sancerre. 

Midwinter Breakfast

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then midwinter breakfast is critical for those of us living in the northern hemisphere! Looking back over the years I can relate to many breakfast recipes. As a child it was al always cooked porridge sometimes indulged with cornflakes if I got my way! As a student it was a coffee. As an employee I was lucky to have toast with that coffee. Occasionally I treated myself to the full Irish breakfast or at least a bacon sandwich on the hoof! Then for years it was simply a soft boiled egg with buttered toast. Today, in midwinter,  I have settled on a more healthy and dramatic start to the day. It still includes coffee but is accompanied with a freshly squeezed orange juice, a fruit and nut oatmeal muesli and a cup of delicious home made broth!

Ingredients for 2 persons

2 oranges freshly squeezed.

Muesli 

10g  porridge oats

10g muesli 

1 orange peeled/deseeded and cut into segments 

1 pear peeled/deseeded and cut into small segments 

6 walnuts 

6 dates cut into small segments 

Milk ( oatmeal) poured over the muesli once served (but you could use any type of milk or juice ( apple juice) as preferred). 

Broth

It was during a visit to the Asian market in Singapore that I first became acquainted with the practice of a morning broth! It is a great immune booster and you can feel your body craving for those nourishing ingredients.

I litre fresh chicken broth brought to boil.

1 clove garlic cut up very small

1 shallot cut up very small

1 chili cut up very small 

1 sprig fresh coriander ( finely chopped and served on top)

Simply boil up the broth in a saucepan. Finely chop the raw garlic, onion and chili adding it to the broth and  removing from heat. Serve in mugs with the coriander on top. I sometimes add ginger to this broth which adds an additional magic. Season with salt and pepper.