Moules au Vin Blanc

1/2 to 1 lb. mussels
2 onions, sliced
1 tbsp. butter
3-3/5 oz. celery, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped parsley

Directions:

Debeard the mussels and allow them to soak 1 to 2 hours in a large potful of water, to which a fistful of salt has been added. After soaking is completed, rinse with cold water.

In a large kettle, heat butter, onions, celery, salt and pepper over a low flame until the onions turn yellow. Do not allow them to brown.

Add mussels atop onions and celery; add dry white wine. Cover the kettle; heat with high flame. Steam mussels, shaking kettle every 3-4 minutes until all shells open wide (about 10 minutes). Discard any unopened mussels.

Place mussels into a deep dish or pail. Ladled some of the remaining liquid onto the mussels and top with chopped parsley.

Comments from drmarvl :

Best served with a cold light dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Aveleda Vinho Verde This also goes well with ice-cold beer.

Keep slices of french bread handy. The juice is great for dipping.

We have found that high quality beer which is not too bitter works as well as white wine and gives a somewhat richer flavor. Michelob or Stella Artois are excellent choices.

Recipe given me in 1968 by Mme Lemlin
Univ. de Liège Service de Microbiologie

User Reviews:

Sadly this recipe is short of one vital ingredient: fresh garlic, finely diced and added to the juices before cooking. I would also suggest you use a dry white wine, such as a Muscadet from the Loire estuary area in France and mix in a little Dijon mustard (a tablespoon for 600 grams to 1000 grams (one kilo) of mussels. To open and check the mussels' quality, just heat in a light covering of water with a little wine, then you could drain the mussels and cook them in the clean juices with a good measure of white wine, garlic, mustard, black pepper from the mill, et voilà!

Submitted by leprovencal on November 01, 2003

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