Mussels - general principles and methods of cooking
The sea feeds man for more than one millennium. It is a repository of food stocks, which is famous for its nutritional value - rare trace elements, vitamins, amino acids, high-quality protein. In addition to fish, octopuses, crabs, squids, scallops and many more healthy seafood that are suitable for food, including mussels, live in the seas and oceans. Which have tender soft meat with a sweetish aftertaste. When it is boiled, a pleasant aroma emanates from it. Plov, soups, salads, stews are made from mussel meat. It is salted, pickled, smoked, baked, fried. Mussels are served with pasta, cereals, potatoes, vegetables. It should be remembered that it is advisable to consume cooked clams immediately, not to keep them for more than twelve hours, otherwise poisoning may occur.
Mussels - food preparation
Before eating, clams require some preparation. If you do not want to chew sand, frozen mussels, after defrosting, it is necessary to rinse very thoroughly during meals.
If you are going to cook mussels in the shells, a longer preparation is required. First of all, it is necessary to visually inspect them and remove mollusks with damaged shells; they are not eaten. To open the sash, mussels must be placed in a hot frying pan or lowered for two minutes in boiling water. Then the meat is removed from the shell, pulled out a growth (a bunch of algae, which clams are attached to the stones), and thoroughly washed from the sand and pebbles.
Mussels - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Pickled Mussels
One of the most delicious dishes that can be cooked from mussels is to marinate them. They turn out very tasty and cheaper to shop. They can be added to the salad, and put on a piece of toast, and just to eat. We offer two cooking options. In the first case, a marinade without vinegar is added - with spices, white wine and lemon, in the second - with vinegar. And so and so delicious.
Ingredients (1 variant): 0.5 kg of mussels, vegetable oil - 2-3 tables. lie lemon (juice), 150ml dry wine (white), 1 clove of garlic, 1 tea. lie honey and finished mustard, salt, pepper, 1 leavrushka, a few sprigs of fresh dill and cilantro. Method of preparation
If frozen mussels are used, defrost.
Prepare a sauce with spices, which will boil mussels. To do this, boil the wine, put the garlic in it (no need to chop), bay leaf, pepper, lower the mussels and boil it for about four minutes (time to spot from the moment of boiling). Throw in a colander.
Make a marinade. Finely chop the greens, add lemon juice, oil, pepper, mustard, and salt. Mustard can be taken any, for example, French or spicy.
Still warm mussels, together with a leaf of laurel and a clove of garlic, are placed in the marinade and let stand in the refrigerator for five hours. Marinate more convenient in a glass jar or deep bowl. By the way, you can also marinate shrimp.
Ingredients (option 2): 0.5 kg of mussels, an incomplete glass of water, 1 table. lies of vinegar table (9%), 1.5-2 tables. lie sugar, salt to taste.
Method of preparation:
Shellfish defrost. Water salt, boil and boil mussels in it for three or four minutes.
Make a marinade. It should be sweet and sour to taste. In boiling water, dissolve salt, sugar, pour vinegar. In the hot marinade put mussels. In an hour they will be ready to eat. You can arrange them in jars, where to add a little vegetable oil.
Recipe 2: Baked mussels
Baked mussels are not only tasty, but also look beautiful, especially if they are baked and served directly in the shells. This dish is suitable for a festive table and for a romantic evening. We offer two cooking options: in the first version, seafood is baked in shells under a cheese crust, in the second - in the usual form with a sauce.
Ingredients (1 variant): 0.5 kg of mussels in shells, 2 tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 50g of butter, spices, 150g of hard cheese.
Method of preparation
Mussels rinse well, clean the sash and boil for ten to fifteen minutes. In the water, you can add bay leaf, spices, salt. During cooking all the sash should open. Those that remain closed should not be eaten. Chilled mollusks divided into halves and gently separate the meat, which should be put back into the sink.
Chop garlic and tomatoes with a grater or blender. In each half of the meat to put a piece of butter, a spoonful of tomato mixture, rub the cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes (180C). Ingredients (option 2): 0.5 kg of mussels, peppercorns, hard cheese - 100g. Sauce: soft processed cheese - 100-150g, 200 ml of cream, 25g of butter, 1 yolk, 1 table. lies flour, 3 cloves of garlic.
Method of preparation
Thaw the mussels, boil for three minutes in salted water, adding peppercorns (5-6 pcs.).
Prepare the sauce. Chop the garlic and put the rest of the ingredients for the sauce. Mix better with a whisk or blender so that there are no lumps.
Put the mussels in the pan or form, pour the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes (20 ° C).
Recipe 3: Fried Mussels
Fried mussels - a simple dish to prepare, but elegant to taste. Both vegetable oil and ghee will be used for frying. Nutritionists recommend creamy, which contains at least 25% vegetable fat. But it must first be reheated. Otherwise, harmful carcinogens may form in the pan when burning.
Ingredients: 0.5 kg of mussels, vegetable oil, 2 onions, salt, spicy ground pepper, seasoning for seafood (or Provencal herbs).
Method of preparation
Chop onions into cubes, fry until golden. Add mussels and fry with constant stirring for five to seven minutes over medium heat. Salt, sprinkle with pepper, seasoning and remove from heat. Let it stand a little under the lid. It can be served with rice, potatoes or as a separate dish.
Mussels - useful tips from experienced chefs
- Mussels are recommended to serve with white wine - in this case, their taste is revealed richer.
- Shellfish caught in the period from June to February should be eaten, as in spring they are not so tasty and fat.
- Mussels should not be subjected to long heat treatment, otherwise they will be dryish and tasteless. Squid cooking rules apply to them - no more than three to five minutes.
- Fresh mussels should not have an unpleasant smell and be tightly closed doors, which can not be opened by hand.
