Mussels with poulette sauce
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme is a pretty little town on the Baie de Somme, where William the Conqueror set out with his fleet to invade England. It is also famous for its rope-grown mussels (moules de bouchot), as are many places along the coast of Normandy and the Somme. This recipe features crème fraîche, butter and cider which are popular ingredients in this region, complete with chicken stock and a few bacon lardons for good measure.
Ingredients
- 40g/1½oz butter
- 75g/2¾oz unsmoked bacon lardons
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 200ml/7fl oz dry cider
- 225ml/8fl oz chicken stock (see tip)
- 2kg/4lb 8oz mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 225g/8oz full-fat crème fraîche
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- ¼ lemon, juice only
- small handful fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- warm bread, cut into chunks, to serve
Method
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the lardons and shallots and fry them over a medium heat until the shallots are soft but not coloured. Add the thyme and cider, then cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
Add the stock and bring to the boil. Discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Add the mussels to the pan.
Cover the pan with a lid and steam the mussels for 4–5 minutes, or until open, shaking once or twice during cooking. Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that remain closed. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mussels and set aside. Keep warm.
Mix the crème fraîche with the egg yolk and a ladleful of the cooking liquid in a bowl. With the pan over a low–medium heat, whisk the mixture into the cooking liquid. Do not allow the mixture to come to the boil and keep an eye on it to stop the sauce from splitting. Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice and half of the parsley.
Add the mussels back to the pan and stir to coat them in the sauce. Spoon into warmed bowls and garnish with the remaining parsley. Serve with the bread to mop up the juices.
Recipe Tips
You can use ready-made chicken stock for this or follow Rick Stein’s recipe for stock:
Makes about 1.75 litres/3 pints
bones from a 1.5kg/3lb 5oz chicken or 450g/1lb chicken wings, drumsticks and leftover bones from a roasted chicken
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan with 2.25 litres/4 pints water, bring to the boil and then immediately turn down to a simmer. Skim off any scum from the surface then leave the stock to simmer very gently for 2 hours. Do not let it boil again as that emulsifies any fat and makes the stock cloudy. Strain and then simmer for a little longer to concentrate the flavour if desired.
