Mussels in White Wine

Since the New Year began, I vowed to myself that I would try and eat more sustainably. I watched an episode of Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feasts and heard them talking about mussels and how sustainable they are, and that we English don't eat them enough. The French do, and why shouldn't we? We fish for them along the whole of the British coastline and produce 35000 tons of them, but most of them get exported to other countries. Since they are so cheap and delicious and nutritious (high in vitamin B12 and lots of protein), why not enjoy them ourselves? I found mine in Tesco at the fish counter for only £2.50 for a large net, which is an amazing price for evening feast!

Here's my simple recipe:

Ingredients:

1 net of mussels (go to Tesco and buy theirs for less than £3)

1 onion, thinly chopped

1 small glass of white wine

Olive oil

A handful of chopped parsley + extra to garnish

Sourdough bread to serve with

Method

1. Pour your mussels into a colander and wash with cold water until it runs clear (you may need to do this several times).

2.Scrape off any barnacles (the white bits) with a sharp knife. This is quite hard to do, so just leave some if you can't get them off- as you can see, I had trouble!

3. Throw away any cracked shells, and tap any that are open, and if they don't close, they are dead and should not be cooked. Also, pull off any that have beards (the whispy bit poking out of the shell). If you pull towards the pointy bit of the shell, it's easier to remove. 

4. In pan, fry the chopped onion in a little olive oil, once transluscent, tip in the mussels, parsley and white wine. Put on the lid and steam for 3-4 minutes. You can tell if they are cooked by checking if the shells have opened. According to the BBC Food website, those that have not opened are ok to eat, as long as you can open them easily.

5. Remove from the heat once steamed and ladle into a big bowl to share. Serve with some crusty sourdough bread, or any bread of your choice. 

Do you eat mussels regularly? Will you eat them more now that you know they are sustainable and from British shores? What's your view on sustainable eating?