Curry Laced Moules à La Marinière With Fresh Peas Recipes

Steps:

• Clean the mussels. Inspect each one carefully and discard any that have opened (if some are partly open, tap them with your finger, and if they close back up they are O.K.) or have cracked shells. Place in a large bowl, fill the bowl with cold water and rinse several times, swishing the mussels around in the water, pouring out the water and refilling. Clean the shells, if necessary, with a brush or the end of one of the mussels, and pull out the beards - the hairy attachments emerging from the shells. Do not do this until just before cooking, or the mussels will die and spoil.
• Steam the peas or cook them in lightly salted boiling water until tender, 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the size and age of the peas. Drain and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or pot and add the onion or shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes, and add the curry powder. Stir together for a minute, until fragrant, and add the wine, garlic, bay leaf, sprigs of parsley and thyme, and the peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium and boil for 2 minutes.
• Add the mussels and cover tightly. Cook 2 minutes, shake the pot vigorously and cook another 2 minutes. Uncover and use tongs to transfer all of the mussels that have opened to wide soup bowls. Cover the pot and cook for another minute, or until all of the mussels have opened. Transfer them to the bowls with the other mussels. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Cover the mussels to keep warm.
• Line a strainer with a few thicknesses of damp cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Strain the liquid from the pot into the bowl, return to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter and simmer until it melts. Stir in the peas. Taste and adjust seasoning. You may want to add more pepper or curry powder. Spoon the broth and peas over the mussels, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Clean the mussels. Inspect each one carefully and discard any that have opened (if some are partly open, tap them with your finger, and if they close back up they are O.K.) or have cracked shells. Place in a large bowl, fill the bowl with cold water and rinse several times, swishing the mussels around in the water, pouring out the water and refilling. Clean the shells, if necessary, with a brush or the end of one of the mussels, and pull out the beards -- the hairy attachments emerging from the shells. Do not do this until just before cooking, or the mussels will die and spoil.
• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the mussels. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Arrange the mussels, pointed ends up, in a single layer in a cast iron skillet and/or a heavy baking dish. Spoon the marinade left in the bowl over the mussels and place in the preheated oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, until most of the mussels have opened.
• Meanwhile, steam the spinach in a large pot above 1 inch of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, arrange on a large round platter, and season with a little bit of coarse sea salt and pepper.
• Arrange the mussels that have opened on top of the spinach and return the pan to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that have not opened. Arrange all of the mussels on top of the spinach, pour the juices in the pan over the mussels and spinach, sprinkle on the parsley and serve over a bed of steamed spinach, with crusty bread.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook shallots and garlic in simmering wine until translucent.
• Stir in cream and curry powder. When sauce is heated through, add mussels. Cover, and steam mussels for a few minutes, until their shells open wide. With a slotted spoon, transfer steamed mussels to a bowl, leaving the sauce in the pan. Discard any unopened mussels.
• Whisk butter into the cream sauce. Turn heat off, and stir in parsley and green onions. Serve immediately.