Fennel Mussels

I may be behind the curve, but I recently discovered that Food & Wine magazine is quite the publication. I picked up a copy at CM the other day and found a myriad of interesting recipes. When I read an article on a Sonoma winemaker who "forages mussels from the nearby coast," I was instantly attracted to the idea of cooking my own. Poin and I tend to judge restaurants on how well they make mussels, so I decided to put myself to the test. Turns out... mussels... ain't that hard! And... bonus ... $12.00 will feed two people easily - much cheaper than ordering a bowl at a good restaurant. Btw - for Dallasites, The Grape makes a scrumptious batch.



Served with piquillo rouille and made with homemade fish stock.

Fennel Mussels

Ingredients

2 lbs of Mussels (Prince Edward Island or PEI)
1 head of fennel, cored and diced plus 1/4 cup of chopped fronds
1 medium onion (I used half of a large white), diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 3/4 cups of fish stock (or bottled clam broth)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt

Preparation (less than an hour)

In a large pot, heat up your olive oil. Be sure to always heat your oil when cooking because if you don't, then your onions tend to soak instead of cook. Add the diced fennel, onions, and garlic and cook for approx 7 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the red pepper and cook for another 30 seconds. Pour in the fish broth and bring to a boil. The F&W recipe calls for 1/2 cup of Pernod, but I omitted this b/c I didn't feel like buying it. Turned out fine!

Add the mussels, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Shake the pot as the mussels cook and try not to open the lid because the steam is important! After 5 minutes, you should find that all of the mussels have opened. Pile them into a bowl and discard any that stayed closed. Stir in the butter to the broth (don't worry, it's not very much butter!) and add the fennel fronds and parsley. Season with salt and pour broth over the mussels. Serve & enjoy!