| Level: | Easy |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 shallots)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine, divided
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 pounds fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded (see Cook’s Note)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- Crusty baguette, for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large (12-inch round x 5-inch deep) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium-low heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and saffron and sauté for 4 minutes, until the shallots are tender and fragrant. Add 1/2 cup of the wine, the cream, lemon zest, and tarragon. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
- Add the remaining 1 cup wine and 1/2 cup of water. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until all the mussels have opened (discard any that don’t open). Sprinkle with the parsley, chives, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir well with a large metal spoon and serve hot in shallow bowls with the broth and bread for dipping.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 799 |
| Total Fat | 38 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 59 g |
| Cholesterol | 210 mg |
| Sodium | 1531 mg |
Reviews
Absolutely incredible! Followed the recipe exactly as written but did follow suggestions by others to reduce the amount of salt due to using regular table salt instead of kosher salt. As far as the metal spoon goes, who knows! LOL.
Why does she say to use a metal spoon? Is there a reason to stir at the end with metal?
This was delicious, and quite easy! The hardest part was finding all the ingredients (especially the tarragon). I followed the recipe exactly (but halved it for two) except I used bit of chicken broth instead of water and skipped the second round of salting. This was super tasty, we could not stop dunking bread in the broth!
I followed Ina’s recipe to the T as I always do first time out. I was moaning as I ate it. That said Ina tends to OVER SALT. Next time I will use 1/2 the salt and twice the garlic and it will bring it to 5 stars!
I use seafood stock instead of water but even with water this is the best mussels recipe ever. My family has asked me to double the recipe.
Absolutely delicious! In California they add Spanish chorizo like BILBAO, next time I will do them like that.
I made this exactly per instructions, and I am sold! The broth was wonderful! Make sure you have yummy bread for sopping up that tasty broth. Thank you, Ina, for a wonderful recipe.
I made these last night. Absolutely will make this recipe again. So delicious. Added a splash of Pernod.