Moules Marinierès

This is my all time favourite. 

All I year I can’t wait until moules are in season.

I found the recipe on which my version of this dish is based in a cookbook by Paul Bocuse. 

If you have ever tried to cook one of his recipes you know it is very detailed and time consuming. That is why I changed a few things around and made it simpler.

First of all you’ll need moules. 

I always buy roughly 1.2 kg for two people because we can’t get enough.  J And I make sure that they are kitchen-ready, which means they are cleaned.

But if you can get your hands on some really fresh ones rinse them thoroughly under cold water until there is no more sand coming out.

Get rid of those moules that are more than half-way open.

You might have noticed that I mostly don’t use strict measurements so you will have to go with your gut when it comes to the amount of butter and the white wine. Don’t worry it is a French recipe so there is no such thing as too much butter... ok honestly there is but you would really have to go out of your way to manage that ;)

You will need: 

(based on 1.2kg moules)

• moules
• fresh bunch of Italian parsley
• garlic
• onions – red
• butter – roughly 60g
• crème fraîche – 2-3 tbsp
• white wine  - best guess is 1-2 glasses
• three bay leaves
• salt
• pepper

‘Equipment’ you need:

• a sieve, big enough to hold almost all of the moules
• a pot with lid, big enough to hold the moules
• a small pot

First you should prepare whatever you are planning to eat with the moules. We usually opt for moules et frites.

Make sure the moules are clean and chop the onions, the garlic and the parsley. Next melt the butter in the bigger pot and add the onions and the garlic. Let it simmer for five minutes but don’t let the onions get brown. Add the parsley and the bay leaves and stir for another couple of minutes.

 

Now turn up the heat to a maximum and put the moules in the pot, pour over the white wine. The base of your pot should be covered. Now close the pot with its lid and if necessary hold it shut. Keep as much heat as possible inside J (but be careful to not burn your hands – the steam is hot)

If your stove is a bit slow pour the wine in before you add the moules and make sure it starts to boil. This actually has a somewhat ‘flattening’ effect to the taste so you might want to add some more parsley now.

The heat from the steam will be enough to cook the moules... they will open up. You could stir once to get those from the bottom to the top, but usually that is not necessary.

 As soon as you hear the ‘plopping’ sound of them opening they are done. Like popcorn, but quieter.

Now drain them. But keep the sauce.

Put a small pot with the sauce back on the stove and stir in the crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the moules in a soup plate and pour sauce over them. The sauce also tastes really good with the fries or baguette.

Bon Appétit