I of the things I admire about French cooking is the fact that inexpensive foods are given the same loving treatment as the luxury items, and frequently turn out to taste even better. Take mussels. Probably the most popular mussel dish is “moules marinieres“, a classic French recipe using wine, garlic, shallots, parsley and butter. This dish is easy to make, and tastes divine. The only different thing with my variation is that I added fresh tomatoes to the sauce. I love it this way. See for yourself when you try this recipe. Also, you can find more scrumptious recipes on https://kitchenultimate.com
Mussels in White Wine Sauce with Onions and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 2 1/2 lb. mussels, well scrubbed and debearded
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3-5 small tomatoes, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Then add the onion, garlic and cook until the onions are soft, about 3-4 minutes. Turn up the flame to high and add the mussels. Pour in the white wine, bay leaf, fresh parsley, salt, ground pepper and stir for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, cover and cook for 5 minutes until all the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that did not open.
Serve the mussels in large bowl with the broth and baguette slices for dipping.
(On the photo: Boston lettuce for my salad that I had with mussels)
Tip: To clean mussels, scrub the shells well under running water. The beard, a fibrous tuft near the hinge, should not be removed until just before cooking. Grasp it close to the shell and pull on it with a firm tug. Today, with so many farm-raised mussels in the market, beards are less fully formed and are easier to remove. Once the mussels have been thoroughly cleaned, remove and discard any shells that are open or broken and that do not close when tapped.
16 Comments
Dee Hurter
February 17, 2012 at 12:38 amThese look amazing! I especially love the little bowl that is holding your tomatoes 🙂
Marina
February 17, 2012 at 3:59 amyou pictures are so realistic that I wanted to grab couple of those yummy mussels…
beti
February 17, 2012 at 5:06 amwhat a perfect way to eat mussels! delicious looking
Anonymous
February 17, 2012 at 5:47 amThese look terrific! What you said about the french treating inexpensive and costly foods with the same care was poetic! I just returned from London and Paris and you pinpointed it perfectly!
Tiffany
February 17, 2012 at 4:19 pmWe had a fabulous dinner the other night at a French restaurant which included the best mussels I have ever had…. now I have to try your recipe to see if I can get close!
mathea
February 22, 2012 at 12:38 amI'm gonna try this on friday for our dinner with friends, i'm excited to pair it with baguette instead of rice heheh..will let you know the outcome, thanks for the recipe!
Peggy
February 23, 2012 at 8:45 pmOh my goodness! These mussels look amazing =)
Ryan Daniels
December 2, 2012 at 7:17 pmHi. I made your recipe last night and it was amazing! I am a novice cook and am working on getting better, and I was really pleased with how this turned out. Thanks
Yelena
December 2, 2012 at 7:50 pmRyan, thank you so much for visiting my blog. I am so glad that your dish was success! I will try to post more simple recipes in a future. Stop by again!
Katherine Pummill
February 1, 2013 at 11:22 pmGreat recipe! Not too complicated and great instructions. Will be making these for dinner tonight!
Anonymous
March 29, 2013 at 3:30 pmI used this recipe last night. It was phenomenal. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Jamie-John Roque Yanga
July 19, 2014 at 6:40 pmCan I eat this with rice too?
Mumra
July 20, 2014 at 3:38 pmThese will be cooked too long and the mussels will be tough. No more than two minutes. From someone who lives by the sea.
ouafaa tadili
October 31, 2015 at 2:08 pmwith what can i substitute the wine ?
melangery
October 31, 2015 at 8:45 pmHello ouafaa, just don't use the wine. Add little extra more lemon juice.
Phyl
August 11, 2018 at 2:36 amDelicious, but needed more wine for my palate.