A few weeks ago you might have noticed that I did a review of Cru Wine Bar. My friends raved about their steamed mussels and although I didn't hate it I definitely thought I could use their concept and maybe tone down the tartness of the dish. I had a difficult time trying to balance the tartness of this dish myself. The white wine, lemon juice, and tomatoes all have a natural tartness to them and the only way I could try to balance this out was to add more butter and salt. I present to you my version of the steamed mussels.
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh or frozen New Zealand mussels
1 stalk lemongrass (roughly chopped)
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine - Pinot Grigio
Juice of 1/2 lemon (or less if you like it less tart)
1 stick unsalted butter (and 1 tablespoon melted for the baguette)
1 medium shallot (thinly sliced)
4 garlic cloves (diced)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4-5 sprigs cilantro (roughly chopped)
1 Roma tomato (julienne)
1 baguette
Directions:
Slice the baguette on the bias into1/4 inch pieces. Brush with melted butter (1 tablespoon) on both sides and cook on sheet pan for 4 minutes on each side in a 350 degree oven. Remove from oven when both sides are well toasted and set aside to cool.
Add the chicken stock and lemongrass in a stock pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce down to medium high heat after 3-4 minutes and cover the pot.
Add 1/2 stick of butter into another stock pot over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the shallots, garlic, and wine. Reduce the wine down to half a cup and then add the lemongrass broth to the mixture.
Now add the remaining butter, salt, and lemon juice to the broth and cook on medium high heat for another 5 minutes. Add the mussels and tomatoes and give it a quick stir. Cover the stock pot with a lid and turn off the heat. Let the mussels steam for about 5 minutes in the stock pot and garnish with cilantro before serving.
3 comments:
I wonder if you can temper some of the tangy and tart flavors by using a drier wine with less citrus notes too? Maybe a sauvignon blanc or chardonnay. Meyer lemons are also suppose to be less acidic, I would be curious to see how that plays out in a savory dish, if I can find where they sell them at least. I wonder if a richer version could be made with using a little cream as well. I might try a cream and coconut broth with lemon grass version :)
I think you have a good point on the wine. It's just that I prefer to drink pinot grigio so that's what I'm going to cook with. In the end it actually turned out just fine. The butter and salt did the trick. I was trying to stay away from cream and coconut broth on this one, but I've had it that way before in a Thai restaurant.
How about you teach us a chorizo sauce version next time! I want to master that one...speaking of chorizo..hmm when are you going to hook us up with a paella recipe? :D
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