Mussels with Chorizo, Garlic, Sherry and Parsley
Mussels are far more user friendly these days now most of them are farmed; just a quick rinse and you’re off, whereas the wild ones can be high maintenance and for no extra gain. In truth, farmed mussels have had very little human intervention; they’re grown where the wild ones would occur naturally anyway, in clean waters with a naturally abundant food source and have the advantage of being certified.
They’re still relatively cheap too, for a food stuff I would still regard as a treat and considering the only accompaniment needed to make a meal is a decent loaf of bread.
The accompanying bread in this case must be white and rustic, ciabatta will do if all else fails and ideally on the stale side, cut open and griddled lightly, then smeared with the cut face of half a ripe tomato and drizzled with olive oil.
Most of the classic mussel dishes follow the same basic method of steaming them open by slinging them in a lidded pan with a glass of something to create the steam, which then becomes the sauce. This version appeared on the menu as a starter and follows the same principle, but with the addition of garlic, sautéed in the oil left by the chorizo, and with a glass of sherry thrown in to complete the Spanish theme.
Ingredients
(serves 2 as a main course)
1kg mussels
125g or half an average chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
125ml sherry
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Wash the mussels in a deep bowl of cold water, remove any beardy bits or other loose impediments and chuck out any that haven’t closed properly*. Change the water and repeat.
Heat a large pan (one that you can find the lid for) over a medium heat and fry the chorizo. You won’t need any extra oil as the chorizo will provide its own.
With a slotted spoon, remove the chorizo as it browns leaving behind its oil. Add the garlic to the pan and fry briefly, before pouring in the sherry.
Once the sherry starts to steam, sling in the mussels, add back the chorizo and put the lid on sharpish. Give the pan a brief swirl.
The mussels will cook in just 3 or 4 minutes; you could give them another minute at the most if you’re not confident, after which time discard any that haven’t opened.
Add the parsley to the pan, season with black pepper and toss to combine. Serve in deep bowls with the bread on the side.
*A raw mussel that doesn’t close or a cooked one that hasn’t opened should be chucked out on the basis that it’s most probably dead, and the point is you can’t know how long it’s been dead for…could be minutes, hours, days… nobody knows and it isn’t worth the risk.