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Mussels with fennel, lemon and glasswort dip
This makes a lovely dinner for two but would also work well as an easy starter for four
SERVES 2 PREP 15 MINS COOK 10 MINS
✱ 2kg MSC mussels (in shells)
✱ 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced ✱ 1 fennel bulb
✱ 150g glasswort or samphire
✱ 10 fresh basil leaves
✱ 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
✱ 1 lemon
✱ 30ml dry white wine
1 Put the mussels in a bowl of water, discard any that are broken, gaping open, or that float. Pull out any beards from the shells and rinse any grit away. 2 Warm a deep pan on medium heat. Add a dash of olive oil and fry the garlic, letting it colour slightly. 3 In the meantime, remove the top and cap of the fennel and cut the fennel into thin slices. 4 Add the fennel to the pan with the garlic and cook for a few minutes, so the fennel starts to soften slightly.
5 Add the mussels to the pan and put the lid on. Leave to cook for a few mins or until all the mussel shells have opened. This will draw moisture from the mussels and create a delicious broth.
6 Prepare the dip: fill a blender with 2/3 of the glasswort, the basil leaves, half the olive oil, juice and zest of the lemon and season with salt and pepper.
7 When the mussels have opened, deglaze the pan with white wine and add the last 1/3 of glasswort. Put the lid on for a few more mins to steam the samphire.
8 Discard any mussels that have not opened, but don’t discard the broth, it’s very tasty! Serve in a deep dish with the samphire dip on the side.
Per serving: 438 cals, 23g fat (3g saturated), 2g carbohydrates