After a much longer break for the holidays and New Year than we anticipated, we are finally back on track and getting recipes posted again. We could bore you with the details on everything that has kept us from making any new posts since the beginning of the year. Or we could just get on to the recipe, since that is why we are all here in the first place.
Like everyone else, sometimes we don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. For busy nights, it’s always important to have something simple on hand that you can throw together with a minimum of fuss. An oft overlooked option for those times resides in the frozen seafood section of nearly every supermarket: frozen mussels. They are pre-cooked, pre-cleaned, and couldn’t be simpler to prepare. Simply toss the whole bag – still frozen – into a pot of boiling water, and you’ll be ready to toss them with whatever flavoring options you desire in a matter of minutes.
This particular iteration is purely Chele’s creation, refined from something she put together one evening from an assortment of items she had on hand. The result came out far more elegant than the simple preparation method would suggest. We enjoyed them so much that we took down notes, labeled as simply “Chele’s mussels” as a placeholder while we worked out a proper title for the recipe. Try as we might, we couldn’t come up with anything else we liked better, so Chele’s Mussels are officially what these will be known as.
Serve these along with some boiled potatoes, white rice, or even some crusty bread for a quick but surprisingly sophisticated meal. You don’t even need to tell anyone how easy and inexpensive these were. That can be our little secret.
Chele’s Mussels
Ingredients
- 16 oz mussels frozen
- 3 generous Tbs ghee
- 1 small onion chopped
- 10 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 1/2 cups white wine
- juice of 2 lemons
- dash sumac
- pinch saffron
- 3 Tbs Crab & Shrimp Boil seasoning (we use Penzeys)
- 5 whole cloves
Instructions
- Heat mussels according to package directions. Drain, set aside, and keep warm. (If using fresh/live mussels, scrub clean in cold water and set aside. Do not cook them yet).
- Heat ghee in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add garlic and onions. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes).
- Add white wine, lemon juice & spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Add pre-cooked mussels to pan, cover, and simmer a few minutes longer, until heated through. (If using fresh mussels, add them to the pan, cover, and simmer 5 to 8 minutes. Discard any that do not open).
Notes
- The Crab and Shrimp Boil seasoning we use from Penzeys contains mainly aromatics that lend flavor, but are not intended to be eaten themselves. While we like the presentation of having these various whole spices laced through the dish, feel free to place them in a cheesecloth pouch if you would rather not deal with them while you are eating.
