MUSSELS
There is a specific time and place for food delivery apps.
That time is when you aren’t prepared and you would rather spend time with friends or family than cook.
Uber eats is not for the times you just don’t want to cook on a Friday/Saturday night and you are after convenience . Life is already too fast. Fast food, fast connections and the promise of faster delivery. Mastering cooking is the ability to put together a meal that you enjoy with what you have in the fridge, pantry or freezer. Because even if it is an omelette something you have cooked just for you nourishes both your body and soul.
Ultimately cooking becomes a meditation as convenience is all destination and no journey.
I have made this recipe too many times to count, it is there when you want to make something with the least amount of steps involved. This is garlicky and tomato-y and it is perfect with crusty bread or shoestring fries.
On Saturday night after work I looked through my pantry and found a tin of tomatoes, garlic and an onion. We always have frozen shoestring fries on standby in our freezer.
I walked to our local fish and chip shop where they had 1KG bags of mussels for about $16… Sold.
With in 20 minutes we were sitting on our terrace with a steaming pot on what was the first sunny evening all Spring having a wine and catching up on our week.
We certainly not eating our own individual order not talking sitting on our phones.
Ingredients
1KG Mussels
5 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
A whole onion/leek/fennel - just one of whatever you have
Tin of crushed tomatoes
A cup of white wine
A good knob of butter
1/2 bunch of parsley chopped (optional)
1 cup canola oil for frying
Method
Chop onion, leek or fennel and crush and peel garlic
Add to a large pot with knob of butter cooking until soft.
Heat canola oil test with a single fry
Once onion is softened add mussels stirring to coat with butter
add white wine reduce by half with lid off
Add tin of tomatoes, stirring again this time adding the lid and cook until all shells have opened.
Fry the fries in batches placing them on a tray with salt in an oven on low to keep warm.
Sprinkle mussels with parsley and serve all together hot!