BLACK MUSSELS IN A CREAMY GARLIC SAUCE

Starter deluxe

Clean the mussels properly and remove their beards – if you don’t, you might get a few grains of sand in your potjie.

Ingredients

(serves 4 as starter)

• 300 ml dry white wine

• 1,5 kg fresh black mussels, scrubbed and beards emoved

• 3 tablespoons garlic butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 small white onion, finely chopped or grated 1 teaspoon flour (optional)

• 1 cup cream

• 1 lemon

• 1 ciabatta, sliced

Here’s how

1 Heat the wine in a potjie and bring it to boil. Add all the mussels, put the lid on and steam for 5-6 minutes until all the mussels have opened – remove and discard any that didn’t open.

2 Scoop out the mussels and keep 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Open the mussels and pack the shells with the mussels flat in a heatproof dish – use foil if you want less washing up.

3 Melt the garlic butter and oil in a clean potjie and sauté the onion slowly until soft and glossy. Stir in the flour if you like a thicker sauce and let if fry for a minute.

4 Whisk in the cup of wine – a fork works just as well if you do not have a balloon whisk at hand – followed by the cream. Season the sauce to taste with grated lemon zest and simmer over low heat until thick and fragrant. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

4 Drizzle the sauce over the mussels – don’t be shy! – and reheat the dish over the coals if it’s cooled down too much. Enjoy the mussels with lemon wedges and a slice of ciabatta.

Drive & Camp says These mussels are just the ticket as a shared starter next to the campfire.