STREET HAWKER’S STUFFED MUSSELS (MIDYE DOLMA)
Serves about 4 (5 mussels per person) A LITTLE EFFORT
GREAT VALUE
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 40 minutes
For the stuffing: onions 5 vegetable oil 1 cup, for frying currants 30 g pine nuts 30 g shortgrain rice 115 g tomatoes 2 freshly ground black pepper 2t ground pimento 2t ground cinnamon 1t
Italian parsley 5 sprigs dill 3 sprigs
black mussels 20 tomato paste 2T pepper paste (see info box opposite) 2t olive oil 2T lemons 4, cut into wedges, for serving
1 First, prepare the stuffing. Finely chop
the onions. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 2 Meanwhile, place the currants in a bowl, cover with warm water, and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Toast the pine nuts in a pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes, shaking often. Set aside.
3 Wash the rice under cold running water, then add to the simmering onion. Increase the heat to medium. Grate the tomatoes over the rice. Strain the currants and add to the pan. Add the pine nuts, pepper, pimento and cinnamon and stir.
4 Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
5 Pick the parsley leaves, discard the stalks and finely chop the leaves. Finely chop the dill. Mix the parsley and dill into the stuffing mixture, then set aside. 6 Open the mussels. If you’ve bought the mussels in a vacuum bag, open the bag over a bowl to catch any liquid inside. Scrub the shells clean. Using a blunt knife, carefully force the point of the knife into the gap at the pointy end of each mussel and slice through the meat so the shell opens with half the meat attached to each half shell – once you cut through the thick, round connecting muscle at the bottom of the mussel, it will be easy to open. Pour the juice into a bowl. Snip off the beards and, using your finger, remove any grit at the base. 7 Spread the half-shells to tear the muscle of the mussel, but leave the two halves connected. Put 2 t of the stuffing into the middle of each mussel and push the half-shells together again. 8 Place a bread-and-butter plate, face down, in the bottom of a saucepan about 25 cm wide. 9 Place the mussels in the pan, with
the tips pointing outwards towards the edge of the pan with the shells slightly overlapping (to prevent them from opening). Build a tight spiral of shells in the centre of the pan; there should be only one layer of mussels. Strain the mussel juice through a sieve lined with a double layer of muslin (cheesecloth) three times, to remove any grit. 10 Mix 1 cup of the mussel juice in a small bowl with the tomato paste and red pepper paste. Pour the mixture over the mussels. Splash on the olive oil. Place another bread-and-butter plate over the mussels, then put the lid on the pan. Place the pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 11 Remove the mussels from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature. (You can also keep them in the fridge overnight.) Serve the midye dolma on a big platter with lemon wedges for guests to help themselves. The best way to eat them is with your hands, using the top shell to scoop the mixture out of the bottom shell.
DAIRY-FREE, WHEAT- AND GLUTEN-FREE WINE: Springfield Life from Stone Sauvignon Blanc 2019