Moules À L'escabèche Recipe

Clean and inspect

Rinse the mussels under cold running water. Discard any with broken shells or that do not close when tapped. Remove beards by pulling toward the hinge and scrub shells if necessary.

Steam the mussels

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the crushed garlic and sliced shallot and sauté for 1–2 minutes until fragrant but not browned. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns and 200 ml white wine and bring to a vigorous simmer.

Add the cleaned mussels to the pot, cover and steam for 4–6 minutes, shaking the pot once or twice, until shells open. Remove from heat. Discard any mussels that remain closed.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a bowl to cool quickly. Reserve 80–100 ml of the cooking liquid, strain it through a fine sieve to remove shells and aromatics, and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk together 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil, 60 ml white wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 0.5 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp ground black pepper until the sugar dissolves and the mixture emulsifies slightly.

Add the thinly sliced garlic clove, half a thinly sliced red onion, 1 tsp thyme leaves, 2 tbsp chopped parsley and the torn half bay leaf to the vinaigrette. Stir to combine.

Once the reserved cooking liquid has cooled to room temperature, whisk 2–3 tablespoons of it into the marinade to round the flavor and add the mussel cooking essence. Taste and adjust seasoning with a little more salt, sugar or lemon if needed.

Place the cooled mussels (in their shells) in a shallow nonreactive container or bowl in a single layer. Pour the escabèche marinade over the mussels so they are evenly coated; include the sliced onion and garlic from the marinade. If necessary, press mussels down or add a little extra olive oil to submerge them.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, to allow flavors to develop. Turn the mussels once or twice while marinating so all get coated.

Bring the marinated mussels out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving to take the chill off slightly. Arrange them in a shallow serving bowl, spoon some of the marinade and onions over the top, and sprinkle with extra chopped parsley or microgreens.

Lightly toast the raisin & walnut bread slices. Serve alongside softened butter if desired. Provide small forks or picks for guests to remove mussels from shells, and offer the bread to mop up the escabèche sauce.