Vermouth Mussels with Tarragon Oven Fries
Tarragon oven fries:
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
- 1½ pounds (680 grams) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled if you so desire
- Coarse salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
- 2 pounds (905 grams) mussels
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup minced shallots (2 large) or minced white onion
- ½ cup (118 ml) dry white vermouth
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
Instructions:
The thing is, the best French fries are cooked twice: once to cook them throughout, and a second time to brown and crisp their edges.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Slice the potatoes into ⅜-inch-thick matchsticks. Transfer them to a pot, and cover them with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a simmer, and let them cook until they are halfway done, about 5 minutes (a paring knife will resist going all the way through the potato). Carefully drain them (they’ll want to break, so removing them with a slotted spoon might make it easier) and pat them dry on paper towels.
- Set the prepared baking sheet in the oven before you drain the potatoes, and let it heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the baking sheet with a pot holder. Spread the fries on sheet. Drizzle them with remaining tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast them for 25 minutes, tossing the tray about to redistribute and turn the fries after 10 and then 20 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven, then toss the fries with additional seasoning, if needed, and fresh tarragon.
- There are a zillion ways to do this, and this is mine: I put them in a big bowl of very cold water for about 10 minutes. This encourages the mussels to expel their sand. Scoop the mussels out (not dump; if you dump the sandy water over them, it defeats the purpose) one by one, and scrub them under running water. Most cultivated mussels have the bissus (beard) removed, but if one lingers, yank it toward the hinge (if you do it away from the hinge, it can kill the mussel prematurely) or cut it with a knife. Discard any mussels with chipped shells, or mussels that are not completely shut; they are more than likely dead, and it’s not worth finding out if it may or may not make you sick, right?
- Bring the butter, shallots, and vermouth to a boil together in a medium pot. Add the mussels, cover, and steam them over high heat until they open. You can start checking at 3 minutes, but it can take up to 6. I like to use the lid and pot holders and shake them around a little from time to time, to make sure they’re getting equal access to the vermouth and heat.
- Once the mussels have swung open (discard any that have not), transfer them to bowls with a slotted spoon. Turn the heat all the way up, and boil the cooking broth for 1 minute, then ladle this over the mussels. Garnish with tarragon, serve with the fries, and eat immediately.