Mussels with Saffron, Cream & Courgettes

Mussels with Saffron, Cream & Courgettes

When you live very near the coast, you cannot help but notice how the seashore seems to encroach inland as soon as Easter marks the calendar. Tourists descend with their bright buckets and spades, and cars strapped with surfboards, taking over our sleepy villages. Alongside the holiday makers, the fishing community becomes busy making the most of the clement weather. There are great benefits to the shift in season. For me, spring marks the moment when some of the finest seafood is more frequently landed by dayboats. There are tantalizing ingredients on offer as 'catch of the day'. It is, however, the last hurrah for the mussel, which will return to my plate only once the tourists have re-tied their surfboards and headed home.

Ingredients

Spring · Serves 4

  • 1kg (2lb 4oz)

    rope-grown mussels, well scrubbed and cleaned

  • a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

  • a knob of grass-fed butter

  • 2

    courgettes, roughly chopped

  • 2

    shallots, finely chopped

  • 2

    garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 1 tsp

    saffron

  • 125ml (4fl oz)

    English white wine

  • 3 tbsp

    Tarquin's Cornish Pastis

  • 200ml (7fl oz)

    double cream

  • a small bunch

    flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

  • flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Buy available ingredients
Recipe image

Method

To prepare the mussels, tip them into a sink filled with cold water. Swish them around with your hands to wash them thoroughly. Use a small, sharp knife to scrape off any barnacles attached to the shells. Discard any mussels with broken shells. Pull off any beards, using the knife to help you. If any mussels are open, tap them sharply against the side of the sink, and discard them if they don't close: they are dead and therefore inedible. Rinse the mussels again in fresh, cold water to remove any bits of shell or barnacle. Drain in a colander, then set aside.

Place a cast-iron pan over a medium–high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil and a small knob of butter. Once the fat is sizzling, add the courgettes along with a pinch of salt, then fry for about 7–8 minutes, or until the courgettes have caramelized. Set to one side.

Add a little more butter and a drizzle of oil to a separate, large cast-iron pan. Add the shallots and garlic and sweat for around 5–6 minutes. Increase the heat and add the saffron, wine and pastis to the pan. Once bubbling, tip in the mussels and cover with a lid. Cook for around 2 minutes. Remove the lid and add the cream along with the courgettes. Cook for a further 2–3 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time to ensure the mussels cook evenly — they are ready when the shells have opened. Remove the pan from the heat to stop the mussels cooking any further.

Spoon the mussels and courgettes into warmed bowls, pour over the pan juices and scatter with chopped parsley.

Serve with some warm, buttered, crusty bread.
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