Name: Mussels in White Wine
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 kg fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded; 30 g butter; 2 shallots, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, sliced; 200 ml dry white wine; 2 tbsp chopped parsley; ¼ tsp black pepper; 1 lemon, cut into wedges; 4 slices crusty bread, to serve

Mussels in White Wine

Fresh mussels steamed for 10 minutes in white wine, shallots, garlic and parsley until they open, served with the broth and crusty bread.

20 min total Serves 2 servings Easy

The Method for Mussels in White Wine

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Rinse the mussels and discard any with cracked shells or any open ones that do not close when tapped.
Melt the butter in a large lidded pot and soften the shallots and garlic for 3 minutes.
Pour in the wine and boil for 2 minutes. Tip in the mussels, cover and cook for 5 minutes, shaking the pot now and then, until the shells open.
Discard any that remain shut. Stir in the parsley and pepper and serve in bowls with the broth, lemon and bread.

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What Can Go Wrong

Cook mussels the day they are bought.
Do not force open any shell that stays shut after cooking; discard it.
Use a wine you would drink; the flavour carries into the broth.

Ingredient Swaps

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

About This Recipe

Buy them alive and cook them the same day. That is the safest and tastiest way to enjoy mussels, which are about the quickest shellfish dinner there is: ten minutes from the hob to the table, with a broth that only needs bread. Freshness is everything.

Scrub the mussels under cold water and pull away any beard. Tap any that are open; if they do not close, throw them away. Discard any that stay shut after cooking as well, because those did not open in the steam. Soften shallots and garlic in butter, pour in the white wine and bring it to a boil to cook off the harshness, then tip in the mussels and cover. Steam does the cooking.

Shake the pan once or twice and look after about five minutes: the shells should be wide open. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the parsley and a splash of cream if wanted, and serve straight from the pan. The broth is the best part, so have bread ready for it. Do not skip the bread.

On the Table Alongside

Crusty bread · Chips · Green salad · Dry white wine

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: French Baguette, Fougasse, French Lentils.

Keeping Mussels in White Wine

Best eaten at once. Do not keep or reheat cooked mussels.