Recipe Moules Normandes (Mussels in a Normandy sauce)

[epicuric]

Recipe: Moules Normandes (Normandy mussels)


Ingredients

1 large banana shallot, finely chopped
150g smoked bacon lardons (I slice them thickly from a 1cm thick rasher)
12 white button mushrooms, sliced in half lengthways
1 apple (red skinned, for visual appeal) cored and julienned
1 x 330ml can/bottle of apple cider
150ml double (heavy) cream
2.5kg fresh mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
Chopped fresh parsley (or chives) to garnish
Salt & pepper to taste.
Butter for frying

Method


Melt butter in a pan. Add bacon lardons and and cook until browned. Remove and save lardons , leaving butter/bacon fat in pad. Add shallots to pan, turn down heat and cook through. Add cider, and reduce by half. Add julienned apple , bacon lardons and double cream, season to taste. Add mussels, cover and cook until open (4-5 mins). Serve, sprinkled with fresh parsley, along with a rustic white loaf (we use French stick) and a big slab of (preferably Normandy) butter.


(N.B. this sauce is not far removed from a Dieppoise sauce (as in, Marmite Dieppoise) so will grace most fish, shellfish, even chicken and pork. Make it your own, and you will never be satisfied with plain old moules marinieres ever again!

 

[buckytom]

Thank you, epicuric. This looks like a good one that I could try. And yes, I can certainly see the sauce working with other fish and proteins.

 

[Francesca]

For those of us who are enamored with Mussels, or any shellfish, or scaled finned fish, in my opinión, adding bacon and cream disguise the taste of the shellfish or fish ..

Surely, a nice dish however, I would never add bacon or any type of meat to shellfish or any seafood or fish dish ..


Have a nice day ..

 

[Morning Glory]

Cream again - why oh why? Mussels don't need it IMHO and personally I can't eat a lot of cream. It just makes me feel sick. But this recipe would work as well without the cream, I think.

 

[Morning Glory]

I would never add bacon or any type of meat to shellfish or any seafood or fish dish ..

I'm inclined to agree - but a little used judiciously can work perhaps.

 

[Francesca]

Cream again - why oh why? Mussels don't need it IMHO and personally I can't eat a lot of cream. It just makes me feel sick. But this recipe would work as well without the cream, I think.

@morning glory

I am sure the recipe would be lovely without the bacon and without the cream ..

Apple Cider, is very lovely with chicken .. And very Asturian and Normande ..

Big Apple growers ..

Have a lovely day ..

 

[buckytom]

Cream, bacon, and shellfish brings to mind New England clam chowder. When done with fresh cream and just a hint of bacon, it is a thing to behold.

I can see the same thing hapoening here.

 

[epicuric]

Cream again - why oh why? Mussels don't need it IMHO and personally I can't eat a lot of cream. It just makes me feel sick. But this recipe would work as well without the cream, I think.

Perhaps, but then it wouldn't be a Normandy sauce! Why are my two main critics cream haters?

 

[epicuric]

@morning glory

I am sure the recipe would be lovely without the bacon and without the cream ...

No, really it wouldn't

 

[buckytom]

Lol, it is what it is.

Hey look, it's starting to rain, and here comes the parade.

I've made mussels in tomato sauces, and white wine and herb sauces before.

I like the idea of a new recipe (new to me).

 

[MypinchofItaly]

Lol, it is what it is.

Hey look, it's starting to rain, and here comes the parade.

I've made mussels in tomato sauces, and white wine and herb sauces before.

I like the idea of a new recipe (new to me).

Mussels in tomato sauce. Amazing! My mom often prepared mussels in this way (no shells obviously) and then seasoned spaghetti...I must admit that mussels also for me must have a very simple seasoning, but with tomato sauce I go crazy.
There is a Belgian brasserie in Milano that we really love, the specialties are mussels and sometimes I chose mussels with cream....OMG they are fantastic.
Did you ever tried them baked in the oven? I could eat one thousand at a time..

 

[buckytom]

I like to take the leftover tomato sauce that mussels were cooked in and use it on pizza!

 

[MypinchofItaly]

I like to take the leftover tomato sauce that mussels were cooked in and use it on pizza!

On pizza? mmm...
Have you ever tried to put the leftover mussels tomato sauce on bruschetta? Roasted bread, evoo, a little minced garlic and then mussels tomato sauce and ciao to all!

 

[Francesca]

Cream again - why oh why? Mussels don't need it IMHO and personally I can't eat a lot of cream. It just makes me feel sick. But this recipe would work as well without the cream, I think.

@morning glory & @epicuric :

I had tried a Mussel recipe with a bit of cream and I just do not care for cream with fresh stunner shellfish.

I like the taste of the "sea" or ocean ..

And I just do not eat " pancetta " or bacon never. I do not like it ..

I love Iberian Blackfoot acorn fed Ham from Dehuesa, Extremadura or Prosciutto or French Jambon but never never with shellfish, seafood or fish .. Just as is, a "tapa" ..

The Mussel recipe with Apple cider and French shallot would be beautiful but without the bacon and the cream ..

 

[epicuric]

@morning glory & @epicuric :

I had tried a Mussel recipe with a bit of cream and I just do not care for cream with fresh stunner shellfish.

I like the taste of the "sea" or ocean ..

And I just do not eat " pancetta " or bacon never. I do not like it ..

I love Iberian Blackfoot acorn fed Ham from Dehuesa, Extremadura or Prosciutto or French Jambon but never never with shellfish, seafood or fish .. Just as is, a "tapa" ..

The Mussel recipe with Apple cider and French shallot would be beautiful but without the bacon and the cream ..

We will have to agree to differ on this. I guess being from Southern Europe you don't have the same fixation with dairy products as us in the North!

But life without bacon? Be serious now!