Mussels Are The Food We Need Right Now
They may be the oyster’s overlooked cousin, but they deserve to be on your plate tonight, and every night.
I have a confession: I’m otherwise a vegan eater, but I can’t resist a good bivalve — in particular, a deep pot of mussels swimming in some kind of a boozy, garlicky broth.
And I’ve taken it upon myself to talk about mussels with anyone who will listen, as though it were my solemn duty to sell their virtues.
The merits of the mussel have long been celebrated in Europe, with the classic moules marinière in France, and moules frites in Belgium. Yet elsewhere in the world, people tend to overlook the humble mussel, preferring their more celebrated shellfish relatives.
Most have been served poor examples of a mussel dish at some point in their lives, the meat smothered in mornay or unseasoned bread crumbs and baked till chewy and lifeless, and have learned to avoid them.
The ‘all you can eat’ places I used to frequent as a kid with my Dad (think bays upon bays of self-serve food in bain maries, sitting there for hours on end getting stale and funky) were the worst for this, it took me a long time to realise that mussels could be so much more.
It’s hard to come back from, I know.
But hear me out: the soft and sweet little molluscs are everything we need right now after the topsy turvy year that has been. They’re delicious and comforting, affordable, sustainable and packed with nutrients, and you really should cook them tonight.
If I could make you, I would.
They’re Affordable, Delicious and Quick to Cook
Blue Mussels are the variety that are farmed and sold commercially. They need to be fresh and alive — I’m sorry, but pre-cooked or frozen just won’t cut it — you can buy them loose from your local fishmonger or vacuum-packed in sea water.
I’ve been buying a kilo of the vacuum-packed, sweet and buttery creatures from the supermarket once or twice a week for months, and the results are always moorish.
They’re quick to prepare too: more often than not they’ve been cleaned for you so they’re all but pot-ready.
A quick rinse and a once over to pull out any remaining mussel ‘beards’ and to throw out any that are opened or damaged and they’re ready to cook. People seem to be scared off by this part, don’t be. It’s no more difficult than, say, peeling a few potatoes.
Though I’d honestly rather prep a kilo or two of mussels than peel the same amount of potatoes — my fingers get sore, I tell myself it’s not arthritis.
Steam the critters for 3–5 minutes until they open up with a splash of good Pinot Gris or whatever dry white you have on hand (I’ve even used rosé), butter (I use the dairy-free kind), garlic, softened onions, herbs, maybe a little chilli and tomato, coconut cream if you’re feeling like something rich, and you have yourself a pot that delivers way more than it should for its simplicity.
Dunking a torn bit of crusty bread into the depths of the briny cooking liquid feels luxurious, though it’ll barely cost you more than a $10 note to feed two or more. Though to be fair, I’ll often hoard the whole kilo for myself.
And if you need to feed a few more mouths then you were counting on? Don’t bother buying more or cooking multiple pots, just carb it up.
Toss the open mussels and their cooking juices with some al dente spaghetti: you’re bound to have a table full of empty shells and licked plates. Mussels are there to be slurped and enjoyed messily after all, there’s no time for neatness here.
Just make sure there’s more of that Pinot Gris to go around.
Your Modern Day, Environmental Hero
You could treat yourself to a pot of mussels every single night and you’d barely make a mark on the planet. Mussels are one of the most environmentally friendly food choices, and are potentially the most sustainable form of protein we have available to us (vegan alternatives included), particularly if you look for locally farmed specimens.
They don’t require feed, so unlike animal agriculture and farmed seafood we aren’t growing food to feed them to feed us, and they don’t need freshwater or valuable land space. In other words, we aren’t wasting resources to produce them. They are filter feeders: they filter plankton (algae), bacteria and other small, organic particles from the water as their source of food.
This is doubly positive, as it means they clean up the sea: they essentially recycle the water, eating the bits and pieces that can cause poor quality H20, and producing clean, purified water in its place. They’re a real modern-day, environmental hero.
This fact may cause a little worry for some — but mussels are safe to eat so long as they’ve grown in unpolluted waters, which is why you should buy the kind from mussel farms rather than foraging for them yourself.
Mussels also win over other seafood in that their harvesting has very little, if any, negative impact on the surrounding environment. They’re grown on longlines near the surface of the water so bycatch and the impact on habitat or other species is negligible, there’s no damage to the mussel beds, and given the fact that they’re farmed, there’s no overfishing.
And while we’re on the topic of making thoughtful food choices: mussels don’t have a central nervous system, meaning that as far as we know they don’t feel pain or react to stimuli in a way that an animal would.
For all intents and purposes, they’re not far off being a plant. So, when you sit down to dinner, you can feel good knowing you’ve made an ethical choice on all fronts.
That is before the aroma coming from your kitchen makes you forget all reason anyway.
They’re Actually Good for You Too
If you weren’t already sold on adding mussels to your weekly dinner rotation you might be convinced by how good they are for you, if you’re into that kind of thing.
They’re high in protein, yet low in fat and calories. They’re rich in omega 3’s, the fatty acids that are often sorely missing from a standard western diet and which are crucial for optimal brain function, and are an excellent source of selenium, iodine, B12, zinc, folate and other vitamins and minerals. Their high iron content even rivals that of red meat.
Add all that up and you can see why I don’t feel too guilty for devouring a whole kilo of the buttery, delicious things. In fact, I’d say I’m doing my body a favour.
Remember the Golden Rule
Just remember the golden rule of cooking mussels: if they’re closed before cooking they’re safe to eat (even if they don’t open up while cooking — just pry them open!), however if the shells are open and don’t close up tightly when you give them a tap before cooking, discard them.
No need to waste time on these potentially dead creatures, there are plenty more mussels in the sea.
Just pour yourself another glass of wine and start slurping.
Recipe: Mussels With Tomato, Chilli, Coconut Cream & White Wine
Take 1kg of fresh, live mussels and rinse them in a colander. Scrub the shells if they need it and pull out any remaining beards. Discard any mussels that don’t close up when you give them a tap on the bench or when you run the open bit under cold water.
Meanwhile, melt 2–3 tablespoons of butter (I use the dairy-free kind) in a large pot over low-medium heat. Throw in a clove or two of minced garlic, 2 finely diced eschallots (french shallots), 1 finely chopped fresh red chilli, a few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf, and stir until the onions are softened (but not brown).
Pour in 1 cup of dry white wine, followed by a 400g can of cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes, ½ cup of coconut cream, a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon. Stir, then crank the heat up to high.
Add the mussels and pop the lid on. Steam for 3–5 minutes, giving the pan a shake occasionally to move the mussels around, until all or most of the mussel shells have opened.
Stir it all up and plonk the pot on a tea towel on the table with a side of crusty bread or fries and the rest of the (chilled) white wine. Serves 2.
