Mussels in Cream Sauce
Mussels cook faster than any fish — three or four minutes under a lid and they have opened. The difficulty is not the cooking but the sorting: a live mussel is closed, or closes when tapped. One that stays open before cooking, or shut after it, goes in the bin without hesitation.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 340 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: 4 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
-
Step 1: Sort the mussels
Tap any open shell: a live mussel closes within seconds. Discard any that stay open or are cracked — a safety question, not a taste one.
-
Step 2: Clean them
Scrub the shells under cold water and pull out the beards, the tufts of thread the mussel held onto rock with. Pull towards the hinge.
-
Step 3: Soften the base
Melt the butter and cook the shallot and garlic for 3 minutes over medium heat without colouring. Burnt garlic ruins the whole sauce.
-
Step 4: Cook off the wine
Pour in the wine and let it bubble 2 minutes, until the raw alcohol smell has gone. What remains is the acidity that keeps a cream sauce in balance.
-
Step 5: Steam the mussels
Tip them in, cover and cook over high heat for 4–5 minutes, shaking the pot once. They are done the moment they have all opened.
-
Step 6: Lift them out and reduce
Take the mussels out with a slotted spoon, add the cream and reduce 3 minutes to a light coating sauce. Left in a simmering sauce they would turn rubbery.
-
Step 7: Return and serve
Put the mussels back, add parsley and pepper and warm 30 seconds. No salt: the seawater in the shells has done that. Serve with bread.
Tips & variations
-
Tip
Mussels that have not opened after cooking are discarded — the muscle holds the shell shut when the animal died beforehand. Do not prise them open.
-
Tip
Keep live mussels in the fridge in a bowl under a damp cloth, not in water and not in a sealed bag: in water they suffocate within hours.
-
Variation
Marinière is the classic without cream: wine, shallot, parsley and butter. With tomatoes and chilli it becomes the Italian version, sharper and lighter.
-
Storage
Eat them at once. Shell any leftovers and keep them in the sauce for a day — they are good in pasta the next evening.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 340 kcal | 1,360 kcal |
| Protein | 22 g | 88 g |
| Fat | 22 g | 88 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9 g | 36 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
Cooked it? Rate the recipe
No ratings yet — yours will be the first.
