Moules – Paris at Home

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 minced shallots
• 2 minced garlic
• Hot pepper
• Salt
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Tarragon, fresh
• 1 bunch chopped fresh parsley
• 4 pounds (2 kg) live black mussels

Rinse mussels in cold water (if needed scrub them and take the beard off)

Heat butter in a large Dutch oven or deep saute pot, add shallots, garlic, dried red pepper, thyme and simmer until the shallots are soft.

Add white wine and salt and bring to a boil.

Add the fresh herbs and the mussels. Cover and cook the mussels for 5 to 6 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels are opened.

Tip: Serve in bowls, serve with crusty, grilled garlic bread to dip the juice and white wine

We had a plan to travel for few days with our mother visiting us in Switzerland to Paris. We had a hotel booking and train tickets with the super speed train direct from Basel to Paris. But unfortunately Paris was at strikes.... So the day of our planned travel we decided to cancel Paris, but we have been so excited and looking forward to eating freshly prepared moules (as they are called in France) with lot of garlic and fresh parsley.

Luckily we could buy at a local fresh fish store fresh mussels and my mother in law taught me how to cook them: in white wine,  with lots of fresh parsley and garlic. We had a luxurious and very reasonably priced dinner at home.