Black Skillet Mussels Recipes

BLACK SEA BASS AND MUSSELS A LA NAGE

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt. Add the fava beans and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Peel off the black eyelets from the bean's shells. Squeeze and pop the beans from their shells. Transfer the beans to a bowl.
• Add the asparagus and peas to the water and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to the ice water to stop the cooking and drain. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl of beans.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Rub the inside of the skillet with the 1 teaspoon of butter and sprinkle with the shallots. Generously season the fish all over with the salt and pepper, and arrange the fillets, skin-side up, in the skillet. Scatter the mussels over the top and pour in the vermouth and water. Cover the skillet and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook until the mussels have open (only uncover the skillet once or twice). Remove the skillet from the heat and let rest, covered, until the fish is just cooked through, about 6 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer the fish and mussels to a baking pan, leaving the broth in the skillet, and keep warm in the oven. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil, add the vegetables and whisk in the 4 tablespoons of butter, little by little, until fully incorporated. Whisk in the herbs.
• Divide the fish and mussels among 4 wide, shallow soup plates or bowls. Divide the broth and vegetables among the plates and serve immediately.

THE BEST MOULES MARINIèRES (SAILOR-STYLE MUSSELS) RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium Dutch oven or large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low heat. Add leeks, shallot, garlic, and bay leaves. Season lightly with salt and heavily with black pepper and cook, stirring, until vegetables are very soft but not browned, about 10 minutes.
• Increase heat to high and add cider or wine. Bring to a boil and let reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add mussels, stir, cover, and cook, shaking pan constantly and peeking every 30 seconds to stir. As soon as all the mussels are open, transfer mussels to a bowl using tongs. Place pan lid over bowl to keep mussels warm.
• Remove from heat and whisk in remaining butter along with mayonnaise or crème fraîche (if using). Return mussels to pot, add parsley, lemon juice, and lemon zest, stir to combine, then transfer to a warm serving bowl. Serve immediately with additional mayonnaise (if using) and broiled bread.

BLACK SKILLET MUSSELS

Steps:

• Heat a large cast-iron or heavy steel skillet over high heat for about 5 minutes, or until a few drops of water dance across the surface. Add the mussels to the skillet in one layer (your pan may fit more or less than 1 1/2 pounds; use only as many as will fit comfortably or use 2 pans).
• Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels begin to open. The mussels are done when they're all open and their juices have run out and evaporated in the hot pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately, in the pan.
• Variations
• Black Skillet Clams or Oysters: This dish can be made with hardshell clams-littlenecks, cherrystones, or quahogs-or with oysters. (Softshell clams, or steamers, are too sandy for this treatment.) Be sure to wash the shells of any of these mollusks very well and discard any whose shells are open or cracked. As with the mussels, they are done when their shells open.
• To add a slightly different flavor:
• When the mussels begin to open, add 4 cloves of crushed, peeled garlic to the pan, shaking the pan as directed.
• Gently melt 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter in a small saucepan. (If you like, add Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste, along with the juice of a lemon.) Serve it alongside the pan of mussels. To eat, remove a mussel from its shell, dip into the butter, then rub up some of the dried juices from the bottom of the skillet.
• Mussels
• Every year, we see more and more cultivated mussels, most often from Prince Edward Island, which is fast becoming the mussel farming capital of North America. These are easy to clean (almost clean enough to eat without washing, but still worth a quick going over), with very few rejects and plump meat. Wild mussels are far tastier but harder to clean. When cleaning mussels, discard any with broken shells. If the mussels have beards-the hairy vegetative growth that is attached to the shell-trim them off. Those mussels that remain closed after the majority have been steamed open can be pried open with a knife (a butter knife works fine) at the table.

SEA ISLAND STEAMED MUSSELS

Steps:

• Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften and become translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer.
• Add the mussels, cover the pot and cook until they open, 3 to 5 minutes. (Check halfway through and transfer any open mussels to a serving bowl.) Add the remaining tablespoon of butter, swirl the pot a few times to incorporate the butter into the broth and then toss the mussels with the broth. Transfer the mussels to a serving bowl, discarding any that did not open. Pour the broth over the mussels, sprinkle with the parsley and squeeze the lemon over top. Serve with Grilled Garlic Bread.
• Heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, stir together the butter, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Spread the mixture on both sides of the bread. Grill until toasted and grill marks appear, about 2 minutes per side.

MARINARA-STYLE MUSSELS

Steps:

• Put the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the paprika and cook for just a few seconds, then add the flour and some salt and pepper and stir until smooth. Slowly pour in 2 cups water, stirring constantly to form a smooth sauce. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently; cook until the sauce is thick, about 8 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley.
• Add the mussels and cover the skillet. Cook until all (or nearly all) the mussels are open, about 5 minutes. (Discard any mussels that do not open.) Garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and serve immediately.

BLACK PEPPER MUSSELS

Steps:

• Put mussels and 1/4 cup water in a large skillet. Season with 1 teaspoon pepper. Cover, and cook over high heat, stirring once, until mussels open, 2 to 3 minutes. (Discard unopened shells.)
• Transfer mussels to a serving bowl. Season with remaining teaspoon pepper, and drizzle with oil. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH GARLIC AND PARSLEY

Steps:

• Heat broiler. Put olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and red pepper and let sizzle for 30 seconds without browning. Add the mussels, stir to coat and increase heat to high. Add the wine or water, and put on lid. After 2 minutes, give the mussels a stir, then replace lid and continue cooking until all mussels have opened, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Paint cut sides of the baguette pieces with oil and place cut side up under broiler to toast. Rub toasts with the remaining garlic cloves.
• Stir the chopped parsley into the mussels, then ladle mussels and broth into bowls. Serve with the garlic toasts.

OVEN-ROASTED MUSSELS WITH FRESH SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Clean the mussels. Inspect each one carefully and discard any that have opened (if some are partly open, tap them with your finger, and if they close back up they are O.K.) or have cracked shells. Place in a large bowl, fill the bowl with cold water and rinse several times, swishing the mussels around in the water, pouring out the water and refilling. Clean the shells, if necessary, with a brush or the end of one of the mussels, and pull out the beards -- the hairy attachments emerging from the shells. Do not do this until just before cooking, or the mussels will die and spoil.
• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the mussels. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Arrange the mussels, pointed ends up, in a single layer in a cast iron skillet and/or a heavy baking dish. Spoon the marinade left in the bowl over the mussels and place in the preheated oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, until most of the mussels have opened.
• Meanwhile, steam the spinach in a large pot above 1 inch of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, arrange on a large round platter, and season with a little bit of coarse sea salt and pepper.
• Arrange the mussels that have opened on top of the spinach and return the pan to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that have not opened. Arrange all of the mussels on top of the spinach, pour the juices in the pan over the mussels and spinach, sprinkle on the parsley and serve over a bed of steamed spinach, with crusty bread.