New Zealand Green Lip Mussels coated in a zesty marinade. They make a really delicious starter to a seafood or steak meal. Serve with a nice fruity white wine.
Chef's notes
Like all of my recipes this is GLUTEN FREE.
You can vary the amount of heat by adding more chilli if you like it hot.
If you can't get New Zealand mussels you can use any large type of mussel that doesn't shrink during cooking. They can be fresh or frozen. Mine are always frozen and I simply thaw them in the fridge overnight.
You can use scallops or even fresh fish pieces if you want to instead of the mussels. Please make sure you don't cook scallops too long as they will shrink and toughen not be as palatable, just sear them and serve.
Steps
1
Preparing the Mussels.
Ingredients
10 New Zealand green lipped mussels
2 stalks of lemongrass
1 tsp white sugar
1 French shallot
Juice of 1/2 lime
Small piece of ginger
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs peanut oil
1 small fresh red chilli
Zest of 1/2 makrut lime
Srip the leaves from the lemongrass sticks to reveal the soft inner core. Chop this roughly.
Roughly chop the shallot. ginger, chilli and garlic.
Add the lime juice, sugar, garlic, chilli, ginger, shallot, peanut oil, makrut lime zest and fish sauce into a food processor and pulse until they form a paste-like consistency.
Place the mussels into a suitably sized stainless or glass bowl. Pour the marinade over the mussells and place into the fridge, covered, for at least one hour.
Add the fish sauce and sugar to taste. Taste the marinade several times to make sure it suits you.
2
Finishing the dish
Ingredients
1 small sprig of fresh cilantro
3 cherry tomatoes
1 Tbs peanut oil
Chop the cherry tomatoes diagonally or accross them.
Finely chop the Cilantro.
Place the peanut oil in a stainless pan.
Heat the pan to medium heat and place the mussels shell side down onto the pan. (You can use a barbeque for even better taste and presentation with this meal!)
Cook for two to three minutes on the shell side then turn the mussels over onto the flesh side.
Cook for a further one to two minutes.
Arrange the cooked mussels onto a large flat plate.
Place the chopped tomatoes and shopped Cilantro appropriately to make the dish look good.
Serve immediately whilst the ingredients are warm.
