Ingredients
Method
1.Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook bacon, garlic and fennel, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until browned. Add mussels and cider, bring to the boil. Cover pan with a lid, cook, shaking the pan occasionally, for 5 minutes or until mussels start to open. Top with reserved fennel fronds, and serve with bread.
Pot-ready, or pre-bagged, mussels are generally sold cleaned and ready to use. If you have bought loose mussels, scrub the shells to remove the debris, then remove the beard, the hair-like byssal thread, by yanking it down. It was once thought that mussels that didn’t open were bad so recipes instructed the cook to discard them; we now know this is simply not true. If a mussel refuses to open, it is simply due to the adductor muscle, which usually hold the two halves of the shell shut, reacting to the heat. If you want to, prise the shells open with a blunt knife.
Note
