White wine mussels with pearl couscous
Seasoned and cooked in a white wine broth, these scrumptious mussels could find the fresh seafood lover in anyone.
- 15 mins preparation
- 20 mins cooking
- Serves 4
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Ingredients
Mussels with white wine and vegetables
- 1 cup (250ml) dry white wine
- 1 kilogram black mussels, scrubbed, beards removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium (150g) brown onion, chopped finely
- 2 stalk (300g) celery, trimmed, chopped finely
- 30 gram butter
- 400 gram baby (dutch) carrots, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup (150g) pearl couscous, rinsed
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 3 cups (750ml) fish stock
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- chargrilled sourdough, to serve
Method
Mussels with white wine and vegetables
- 1Bring wine to the boil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mussels; cook, covered, for 8 minutes or until mussels open. Drain mussels in a colander over a large heatproof bowl; reserve cooking liquid. Cover mussels loosely with foil; set aside until required.
- 2Heat oil in same pan over medium heat; cook onion, celery and carrot, stirring, for 3 minutes or until onion softens. Add tomato paste, pearl couscous and chilli; cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add stock and reserved cooking liquid; bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low; cook, partially covered, for 10 minutes or until couscous is tender.
- 3Return mussels to pan; cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes or until warmed through.
Notes
Pearl couscous is from Israel (it is also called Israeli couscous) and is made by forming semolina flour into balls. It has a mild flavour and pleasant chewy texture. Some mussels might not open after cooking – these may not have cooked as quickly as the others – and some will not open even after excessive cooking. Do not discard these; just pry open carefully with a knife and cook a little more.
