BROILED MUSSELS WITH ONIONS AND MUSSEL-FLAVORED WHITE WINE SAUCE

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cateory: specialty

BROILED MUSSELS WITH ONIONS AND MUSSEL-FLAVORED WHITE WINE SAUCE

Reviews: 198

Ingredients:

1 large red onion (about 1 pound), chopped fine
2 tablespoons butter plus 5cup [125 ml] clarified butter
pepper
2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar, or more to taste
5 teaspoon sugar (optional)
36 mussels, preferably small cultivated (about 15pounds [675 g] if the mussels are small)
2 medium-size shallots, chopped or sliced fine
5 cup [125 ml] dry white wine such as muscadet or
French sauvignon blanc
2 egg yolks
pinch of paprika

How to make
BROILED MUSSELS WITH ONIONS AND MUSSEL-FLAVORED WHITE WINE SAUCE

COOK the onion in 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan, starting on medium heat and stirring every few minutes until the onion releases liquid. Turn the heat up to high and continue cooking until all the liquid evaporates and the onion is completely soft and lightly caramelized, about 25 minutes. Season the onion with pepper, the vinegar, and, if you like, a little sugar. Don’t add salt. Reserve.
S C R U B the mussels as described on page 267. Combine the shallots and white wine in a pot twice the size of the mussels, cover the pot, and simmer gently for 5 minutes to infuse the flavor of the shallots into the wine. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and steam over high heat until all the mussels have opened, about 5 minutes. (Because you’re steaming so few mussels, you don’t need to shake them around in the pot as for moules à la marinière.) Remove the mussels with a skimmer or large slotted spoon.
REMOV E the top shells from the mussels and discard. Take the mussels out of the bottom shells and reserve both shells and mussels. Crumple a large sheet of aluminum foil and spread it out on a sheet pan. Set the reserved mussel shells on the sheet pan, pressing them slightly down into the foil to keep them flat.
POUR the mussel steaming liquid through a finemesh strainer (or a strainer lined with cheesecloth) into a saucepan. Boil the liquid down to ¼ cup [60 ml] and set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
P R E H E AT the oven to 250°F [120°C/gas mark ½].
W H I S K the mussel cooking liquid with the egg yolks in a heavy-bottomed pan with sloping sides (a Windsor pan) or in a medium-size mixing bowl, off the heat, for about 1 minute, until the mixture becomes fluffy. Put the pan or bowl over medium heat while whisking until the egg yolks get even airier. (If you’re using a mixing bowl, hold onto it on one side with a towel or oven mitt.) As soon as the egg yolks stiffen slightly, take the pan off the heat and whisk for a minute to cool the yolks. Whisk in the clarified butter, which should be no hotter than a hot bath or it will curdle the yolks. The sauce should be quite stiff. Season the sauce to taste with pepper—it won’t need salt.
SPOON 1 teaspoon or so of the chopped onions into each shell. Place a mussel in each shell. Heat the mussels in the oven for 5 minutes and spoon the sauce over each one. Turn the oven up to 400°F [200°C/gas mark 6] and bake the mussels for about 5 minutes more to heat them through and make the sauce bubble up slightly. Sprinkle with paprika and arrange on 6 individual plates.

Makes 6 first-course servings

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BROILED MUSSELS WITH ONIONS AND MUSSEL-FLAVORED WHITE WINE SAUCE