INGREDIENTS
- 250g mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
- 150ml white wine
- 150ml fish stock
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small white onion
- 2 marinda tomatoes
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig thyme
- 2 tbsp moscatel vinegar or white wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar
- 4 thin slices of lardo (optional)
- 4 slices of bread
- Olive oil
METHOD
This dish lies somewhere between an escabeche and a stew and can be served warm or at room temperature.
Start by opening the mussels. Place a large high sided pan on a high heat, add a glug of olive oil and a sliced clove of garlic. Once the garlic starts to sizzle add your mussels followed by the wine and cover with a lid. Cook for a couple minutes, shaking the pan now and then until the mussels have opened, discard those that remain closed.
Strain through a sieve, keeping the cooking liquor. Pick the mussels from their shells and put them in the fridge whilst you start the sauce. Wipe out your pan and put it on a medium heat with a good glug of olive oil. Once hot, fry the
chilli flakes and fennel seeds until fragrant before sweating the onion and garlic. Add smoked paprika, thyme and bay. Chop the tomato into chunky pieces and soften slightly, you want them to retain their shape rather than cooking down completely into the sauce. Pour in the mussel cooking liquor and fish stock and simmer for around 10 minutes.
The key to this dish is getting the balance right with the amount of vinegar, the amount recommended is just a guide. If you don’t have a good quality moscatel you could use white wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Season with salt and pepper once you're happy with the vinegar.
When ready to serve add the picked mussels back to the sauce to warm through. Meanwhile grill or toast your sourdough and slice the lardo as thinly as possible. Rub the toast with garlic and olive oil and pour over the mussels with plenty of the sauce. If you want to, finish by draping the lardo over the top.
