Red Coconut Curry Mussels
This gorgeous Autumn coloured dish is perfect for the cooler weather days which are creeping up on us! Enjoy these Thai coconut curry flavours in a big bowl over some rice. Yum!
- 1.5 - 2kg black mussels
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion (finely diced)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger (grated)
- 1 Tin coconut milk
- 1 Tin coconut cream
- 100g red curry paste
- Coriander to garnish
- De-beard the mussels
- In a large skillet pan with a lid, heat the olive oil on medium high.
- When the olive oil is hot, add the onion and sauté for about 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute, being careful not to burn.
- Using a whisk to gently stir, add the red curry paste, coconut milk and coconut cream and bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the mussels to the curry sauce.
- Place the lid on the skillet and allow the curry to gently boil and the mussels to steam for 10 minutes until done.
- Enjoy your saucy red coconut curry in a bowl with rice.
Mussels on the Braai
This method of cooking mussels on the braai with garlic butter and cheese stems from my childhood holidays in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape. As a family we would enjoy picking mussels off the rocks together and later in the evening we would all sit by the open fire devouring them the minute they came off the flames! Definitely what memories are made of.
- 1,5kg black mussels
- 170g cheese (grated)
- 5g chives (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp garlic
- 125g butter
- Salt and pepper
- In a pot with a small amount of water at the bottom, steam the mussels for approximately 8 minutes.
- While the mussels are steaming, combine the garlic and butter.
- De-beard the mussels.
- Open the mussels discarding the half shells with no meat.
- Place the remaining mussel shells with meat on a tray and spoon a decent amount of garlic butter into each shell.
- Sprinkle the mussels with the grated cheese and chives.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Braai until garlic butter is bubbling and cheese has melted.
- Enjoy straight off the fire if you wish!
- Don't be shy about adding toppings!
Garlic Mussel Pot
As a child I clearly remember collecting Black Mussels off the rocks at our holiday home in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape. We would walk up the beach and climb the rocks with our plastic packets collecting mussels and bringing them home to clean, removing the sand and beards in big buckets of fresh water. I can still taste that fresh, salty sea flavour smothered in garlic and butter!
Here is a simple recipe to create a restaurant quality Garlic Mussel Pot in a delicious white sauce, I hope you enjoy!
- 900g half shell mussels (I used frozen mussels acquired from Greenfish Traders)
- 100g butter
- half a cup of flour
- 2 heaped teaspoons of garlic
- 250ml cream
- 2.5 cups of milk
- Salt & Pepper
- A handful of chives (plus some for garnish)
- Remove mussels from packaging and place in a sieve allowing any excess water to be removed
- Set mussels aside
- In a large pot on the stove, melt your butter on a medium heat
- Add flour and mix into butter until it combines
- Add garlic and allow the mixture to bubble for a minute or two (but not brown)
- Using a whisk add cream and stir constantly at the boil, this mixture will thicken quickly
- Add milk and continue to stir with the whisk until the mixture thickens nicely
- Add salt and pepper and chopped chives
- Add mussels to the white sauce mixture and simmer for 10 minutes until the mussels are cooked and the sauce absorbs a lovely seafood flavour
- Serve with rice and/or a french loaf to soak up the sauce
- Garnish the top of with a few freshly chopped chives
