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Mussels are one of nature's greatest little delicacies. They can be cooked in many different ways, but are most often steamed, although they're just as tasty when grilled, baked, stewed, sauteed or even pickled in vinegar.
They're very high in protein, calcium and iron, but low in fat and calories. As if that's not enough, because they contain the highest amount of omega3's of any shellfish, they're good for your heart too.

Strange as it may sound, I have a lifelong affinity with mussels. This is because I grew up at the sea-side on the eastern extremity of Edinburgh, just where the district of Joppa merges with the town of Musselburgh (so named because of the vast expanses of mussel beds where the River Esk runs into the Forth). As a boy, I would often wander around these beds, scrunching around on layer upon layer of shellfish. The trouble was, you couldn't eat them - the water was so polluted that there were warning signs advising their toxicity everywhere you looked. Hopefully, it's all a lot cleaner there now.

Now I'm older, I have a passion for Belgian beer and like to visit that country whenever I can. Fortunately for me, the Belgians also have a passion for mussels so I can drink a bottle of Orval whilst scoffing a steaming bowl of Moules Marinere....heaven!

Obviously, I can't toddle off to Belgium any time the mood takes me, so I sometimes like to prepare a little dish myself - cook up some local mussels, open a bottle of beer (maybe a Chimay Tripel), and imagine myself on a pavement cafe in Bruges.


Moules a la proxam


2kg (4.5lbs) of mussels, cleaned and trimmed
A sprig of mixed herbs - rosemary, basil, tarragon etc.
A handful of chopped parsley
2 cloves of garlic
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
A small piece of carrot, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 oz butter and a tbsp of olive oil
225ml (8 fl oz0 dry white wine
50ml (2 fl oz0 double cream)
A pinch of brown sugar
A dash of lemon juice
A pinch of salt and a liberal dose of black pepper



In a large pan, fry the onions, celery and carrots in the butter and olive oil, adding the sugar to caramelize the onions. Add the herbs, garlic, salt-n-pepper and the wine and bring to the boil. Once the liquid is boiling, slap the mussels into the pan, place a tightly fitting lid on the pan and boil until the mussels have opened (a few minutes).

Pour the mussels into a colander set over a bowl to collect all the liquid. Pour the liquid back into the pan and reduce by around a third, then add the cream and lemon juice and pour over the mussels.

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread and Belgian fries.

Heerlijk!

Of course, you could always make it more interesting and swap the wine for beer.
What kind of beer?

- Any kind you like, but Belgian beer is best. Dark beers, such as Westmalle Dubbel, or Chimay Dubbel work very well, but my favourite beer to cook mussels with is Duvel. Fortunately, Duvel is available in a 750ml bottle. This means you can use a third of it for cooking, and still have nearly a pint to wash down the grub.....Bloomin' marvelous!

Learn more about this author, Andrew H Brown.
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