Mussels in a white wine and cream sauce

Doug Sherring

Mussels have been a constant in our lives. The ones we are used to getting in Maketu are usually about the size of your forearm, but we used regular-sized green-lipped mussels for this particular recipe. Mussels are such a wallet-friendly meat to buy and they are big on flavour. This is a classic way to cook mussels - white wine, a bit of cream and the juices from the shellfish make a delicious sauce. Big bits of crusty bread to mop up the juices are a must.

Ingredients

12	Mussels, green-lipped variety (Main)
1 Tbsp	Butter
7 cloves	Garlic, finely chopped
1 small	Onion, finely diced
1 stalk	Celery, finely diced
1 ½ cups	White wine
¼ cup	Cream
¼ cup	Chopped parsley

Directions

1. Prepare mussels for cooking - scrub them well in a sink to clean. Remove beards from the mussel by pulling firmly and they should come out.
2. On a medium heat in a large pan, melt the butter then add the garlic, onions and celery and cook until soft and translucent.
3. Add the wine and bring to the boil and reduce by half.
4. Add the mussels and the cream. Place a lid on the mussels and cook until they open. Discard any that stay shut.
5. Garnish with the parsley and serve.