Dutch mussels

Mussels and food safety

a little word of advice: there is very little risk when handling mussels that are freshly purchased. Before cooking, in preparation, check every mussel. Proper mussels should be tightly closed.  

Discard any mussels that are cracked or broken. If a mussel is open, tap it against the counter. Tapping triggers a reaction, so live mussels will close their shell immediately.

If a mussel does not close after tapping, discard it. It already has died and there is a higher risk of eating already dead mussels.

Simply follow your instincts and remember this: before cooking: shell closed after cooking: shell opened which basically means that you can skip eating the mussels that are still tightly shut, even after cooking.  

Preparation – 10 minutes

Peel the onion, garlic clove and carrot. Rinse leek, parsley and celery leaves. Clean the mussels under running cold water and check every mussel. Chop the onion, garlic, carrot and leek in small pieces.

Roughly chop the parsley and celery leaves.

Cooking the Dutch mussels – 5 minutes

Heat butter in the mussel pan or dutch oven. Saute the chopped onion, garlic, carrot and leek for a few minutes. Add the mussels, white wine, parsley, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt and then place the lid on.

Cook them on high heat for a maximum of 5 minutes, or until all the mussels opened up. Meanwhile, shake the pan using the oven mitts. Done! amazing how simple this really is, don't you think? 

Serve with bread, fries, salad and mostly garlic sauce. Make sure to try out our dill bread recipe, it goes great with mussels!