PICKLED GREENSHELL MUSSELS WITH COASTAL VEGETABLES
SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 30 MINUTES PLUS MARINATING TIME / COOKING 2 MINUTES
This, to me, is the flavour of Marlborough’s winding coastal waterways. If you can’t find samphire or native spinach use anything crunchy that you enjoy such as cubes of cucumber, diced raw carrot, fresh sweetcorn or small cos lettuce leaves.
PICKLE LIQUID
200ml Dog Point sauvignon blanc 150ml rice wine vinegar
50ml olive oil
1 small strip kombu
½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes zest and juice of 1 lemon zest and juice of 1 lime
70g sugar
1 shallot, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 stalks each of wild fennel, dill, tarragon 100g ice cubes
Combine everything except the the fennel, dill, tarragon and ice cubes in a 2-litre pot. Bring to a boil then turn off the heat. Add the fennel, dill and tarragon. Add the ice cubes to the pot to help cool the liquid quickly. Transfer to an airtight container and cool in the fridge.
30 fresh greenshell mussels 100ml Dog Point sauvignon blanc 1 kawakawa leaf or bay leaf 20 samphire stems
20 native spinach leaves olive oil pickle liquid
Wash the mussels thoroughly under cold running water and drain. Add the wine, kawakawa or bay leaf to a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil over a high heat. Add the mussels, replace the lid and check after 2 minutes. As the mussels open fully remove them from the pot and put on a plate. Discard any unopened mussels. Put 150ml of the mussel-cooking liquor from the pan aside to cool. When the mussels are cool enough to handle, pick them from the shells and place into the cooled pickling liquid along with the reserved mussel-cooking liquor. Marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours (you can prepare to this stage 1-2 days ahead).
When ready to serve, place the mussels in a serving bowl, garnish with the sea vegetables and drizzle with olive oil and some of the pickling liquid. We would eat this with thick-cut pieces of Minghettis black barley sourdough and butter.