Rick Stein’s la mouclade
- Published: 14 Sep 15
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Rick Stein’s mussels dish, a famous recipe from La Rochelle on the west coast of France, combines the seafood with a creamy curry sauce.
- Serves 4
- Hands-on time 30 min
Ingredients
- Small pinch saffron strands
- 1.75kg mussels, cleaned and de-bearded (discard any open mussels that don’t close when firmly tapped)
- 120ml dry white wine
- 25g butter
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ½ tsp good-quality medium curry powder
- 2 tbsp cognac
- 2 tsp plain flour
- 200ml crème fraîche
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Crusty French bread to serve
Method
- Put the saffron in a small bowl and wet it with 1 tbsp warm water. Put the mussels and wine in a large pan, cover and cook over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, until the mussels have opened.
- Tip the mussels into a colander set over a bowl to catch all the cooking liquid (discard any that remain closed). Transfer the mussels to a large serving bowl and keep warm.
- Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion, garlic and curry powder, then cook gently without browning for 2-3 minutes. Add the cognac and cook until it has almost all evaporated, then stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the saffron liquid and all except the last 1-2 tbsp of the reserved mussel cooking liquid (which may contain some grit or sand).
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, then cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the crème fraîche and simmer for a further 3 minutes or until slightly reduced. Taste and season, stir in the parsley, then pour the sauce over the mussels. Serve with plenty of crusty French bread.
- Recipe from August 2015 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 405kcals
- Fat
- 28.5g (17.2g saturated)
- Protein
- 21.9g
- Carbohydrates
- 9.3g (2.7g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.5g
- Salt
- 1.2g
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