- Mussels have 'beards', which are little hairy protrusions from the seal of the shells. To de-beard, just pull the beard away from the clasp of the shell and it will break free.
- : To remove as much grit from the finished dish as possible, use a brush or scourer to remove any barnacles or debris on the shells.
- Ensure to sweat your leek, not fry it, as overcooking leeks at this stage will make them acrid and bitter.
- : If you're not a huge fan of lemon, you can always remove some of the zest before blitzing.
- : As soon as a mussel begins to open, remove it from the pot. Overcooked mussels can become bitter and chewy.
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- 1.5kg fresh mussels
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
- 1 leek, darker green tops trimmed, diced
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 1 large fennel bulb, diced (reserve fronds for garnish)
- 2 medium (450g) floury potatoes (eg sebago), peeled and diced
- 2 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped
- 2 bay leaves
- Peel of ½ lemon, pith removed (optional)
- 1 cup (250ml) white wine
- 200ml double cream
- Freshly-cracked black pepper, to season
- Baguette or ciabatta slices, fresh or grilled and rubbed with a garlic clove
- To clean the mussels, rinse under cold, running water, cleaning off any debris with a scrubbing brush. Remove the beards by firmly pulling them up or down along the shell seam.
- Place the mussels and water in a large heavy-based saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over a high heat. Cook for 2—3 minutes, or until the mussels open, then immediately turn off the heat. Reserving the cooking liquid, pull each mussel out of the pot. Remove the mussels from the shells and pop into a bowl. If you like, set aside 4 shells, for garnishing later (they make a fun, scoopy spoon!). Strain the cooking liquid through a muslin-lined sieve into a jug. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy-based casserole dish over medium heat. Add the leek and celery, cook with the lid on for 10 minutes, or until softened but not allowing to brown. Reduce heat if necessary. Stir in the fennel, potato, thyme, bay leaf and lemon peel and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Pour in the reserved cooking liquid and 250ml (1 cup) of water. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender.
- Remove the bay leaves and blend the chowder using a stick blender until your desired consistency (chunky pieces are encouraged), then stir through the cream.
- When ready to serve, bring chowder to a simmer. Stir in the mussels to warm through (about 1 minute). Ladle into four bowls and if using the reserved shells, pop one in each bowl. Scatter over the fennel fronds, a lick of olive oil and crack of pepper, to taste. Serve with fresh or grilled baguette or ciabatta slices.