stuffed spanish mussels ‘a la vinagreta’stuffed spanish mussels ‘a la vinagreta’stuffed spanish mussels ‘a la vinagreta’stuffed spanish mussels ‘a la vinagreta’stuffed spanish mussels ‘a la vinagreta’

A SERIES OF SCORCHINGLY HOT DAYS !!! . . .  and this is one of Angel’s hot weather / summer holiday / childhood  memory / favorite REFRESHING tapas dishes : extra large cooked Spanish mussels, served on the half-shell and covered with a cool ‘a la vinagreta’ mixture which is a combination of very finely diced vegetables, herbs and boiled egg with olive oil and xeres vinegar and salt and pepper (just like a simple uncomplicated salad dressing) ... but it’s all you really need for these, trust me.

With the very hot weather finally upon us, Angel had been talking about this appetizer/dish for some time now but only a few days ago did I actually find the very large Spanish mussels (twice the size of French or Dutch mussels, thus very practical and easily stuffed) at my outdoor market and so I got some and he proceeded to show me how it’s done in Asturias (in northern Spain) and I proceeded to observe and measure and write down everything … The only hard part is the cleaning & de-bearding of the large mussels which took over 1 hour (but it’s easier when they’re large like that) …

We had some guests over for drinks and nibbles and the leftovers from the previous night of Angel’s homemade preparation sparked their curiosity and they requested the recipe. So here it is, Angel’s recipe & technique for this appetizer (which is great and very well-timed, since he’s the technical & creative problem-solver and web-developer / designer behind-the-scenes guy for the blog/website … Do you remember the “fabada asturiana” recipe a few weeks ago ? That was from his mother !

Yes, I’m going to try to make this blog more inclusive and interactive from time to time . . . it’s more fun for me.

FYI : we all really ENJOYED this . . . :)

stuffed spanish mussels ‘a la vinagreta’

26.08.2016

4-6

ingredients

  • 2 kg fresh Spanish mussels (approximately 5-6 dozen, 6-8 cm long each)
  • 250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine

‘a la vinagreta’ mixture :

  • 3-4 boiled eggs (about 225 grams)
  • 250 grams (1 large) onion or use 6-8 fresh scallions
  • 250 grams roasted red pepper (you may use fresh too)
  • 25 grams (1 large clove) garlic
  • 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 105-120 ml (7-8 tbsp) olive oil
  • 45 ml (3 tbsp) xeres vinegar
  • salt & ground pepper (to your taste)
  • optional : feel free to use other tender & finely diced vegetables such as green peppers, tomatoes, celery, cucumber …

instructions

  • wash, debeard and rinse the Spanish mussels (this will take 1 hour)
  • place the cleaned mussels in a large pot, add the dry white wine and cook at high heat (slightly covered) for 10 minutes until the mussels open
  • let cool, discard unopened mussels and juice and then reserve the mussels (still in their shells) in the refrigerator
  • boil 3-4 eggs until hard boiled, let cool, remove shells and dice finely
  • very finely dice the onion (or scallions), the roasted red pepper (or fresh red and green ^peppers, tomatoes, etc), the garlic and parsley leaves and combine with the chopped diced egg and reserve in the refrigerator
  • before serving, add the olive oil, vinegar, salt & peeper to the diced egg and vegetables mixture
  • remove half the shells from the mussels (only use the shells with the mussels still attached) and place ½ - 1 tablespoon of the ‘a la vinagreta’ mixture on each mussel still attached to the shell and serve cold on a platter … (if there are any extras that don’t fit on the platter, refrigerate and consume the next day, at the latest).

recette suivante

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