Quick and Easy Weeknight Dinner: Mussels

By grace.g.yang ยท October 20, 2009
Under: Cheap Eats,Dinner,My Life,Recipes

Mussels are an amazingly easy, quick, and delicious dinner. I saw them at my local Whole Foods and figured I’d give them a try – they are SUPER easy to make (as long as you know how to use a stove) and you can add all types of different sauces to make the mussels absolutely amazing. I am a fan of a beer or white wine broth (like from Freeman’s), but I’ve also had amazing tomato-based broths as well.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of Mussels
1 bottle of Grolsch (or 1/2 bottle of white wine like 2 buck chuck)
1 lemon
1 shallot
2 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted)
A couple of garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

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First, dice up the shallots:

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Then roughly mince the garlic:

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Add a tablespoon of the butter to a pot:

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Add the shallots and the minced garlic:

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Next, add the juice of one lemon:

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Then add the two tablespoons of Dijon mustard:

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Finally, add the entire bottle of Grolsch:

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Let the Grolsch and other ingredients come to a boil:

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While that’s sitting on the stove, quickly rinse the mussels (while they’re still in the netting):

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Most mussels aren’t that sandy these days because they’re farm-raised, but I always do a quick rinse anyway. Once the Grolsch comes a boil, dump in the mussels:

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Cook with the lid on for about 5 minutes, shaking the pot every once in a while to make sure all of the mussels cook evenly. While the mussels are cooking, toast up some bread (luckily, I bought a half-priced Balthazar loaf that evening). The finished mussels:

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Pair with some white wine, seltzer water, or beer. The broth is so good that David may have drank it like a soup. We usually have mussels when we’re in the mood for something delicious but don’t have the time to cook an intricate meal – this is a super easy dish that you should definitely add to your recipe book!

Cost Breakdown:

2 pounds of Mussels – $5.99
1 bottle of Grolsch (or 1/2 bottle of white wine like 2 buck chuck) – $2.99
1 lemon – $0.69
1 shallot – $0.42
2 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted) – $0.25
A couple of garlic cloves – $0.30
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard – $0.25

Total Cost:$10.89 (for two people)

Reader Comments

Just wanted to say that your blog is incredible and I love the recipes that you have been posting recently. I was wondering if you have ever tried to make your own style of lobster rolls? They sound so yummy when you write about them ๐Ÿ™‚

Thanks

#1 
Written By Terri on October 21st, 2009 @ 10:58 am

Terri – thank you very much for your kind words ๐Ÿ™‚ I haven’t made lobster rolls before, but I’m going to try it one of these days and will post it on a Wednesday (if it turns out to be quick and easy!)

#2 
Written By Grace on October 22nd, 2009 @ 11:49 am

Oh dear, a bottle of Grolsch costs you three dollar in the US? In the Netherlands, Grolsch is considered low-grade beer an we wouldn’t choose it to cook with! ๐Ÿ™‚ A bottle of Grolsch is about $0,70 here.
By the way, I love this recipe, it seems so simple yet very elegant!

#3 
Written By Ilona on October 25th, 2009 @ 7:40 am

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