Farmed in the nutrient-rich waters of Saldanha Bay on the West Coast, mussels are a low carbon-footprint food that tastes delicious in almost any flavour combination.
Here, these briny molluscs are steamed with samphire – a succulently salty water plant – and served atop spaghetti cooked in seawater.
Although undeniably redolent of the ocean, steaming the mussels with shallots and a splash of Krone Borealis Cuvée Brut lends the dish notes of green apple, white blossom and citrus offset by the MCC’s distinctive oyster shell minerality.
Prep time: 30 mins /Cook time: 15 mins /Serves: 4
You will need:
- 4kg of fresh mussels, cleaned
- 2-3 shallots, finely chopped
- Olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 250ml White WIne
- A handful of samphire, thoroughly rinsed
- The zest and juice of a large lemon
- Fresh fennel fronds, finely chopped
- 500g spaghetti
In a large casserole over medium heat, sauté the shallots in a little olive oil until soft and golden.
Add in the garlic and fry for a minute before deglazing the pot with White Wine.
Add the mussels and the samphire and steam for 8-10 minutes or until all of the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that don’t open.
Set a pot of seawater or salted water to boil. Once boiling, pour in a glug of olive oil and add the pasta. Cook the spaghetti until al dente.
Without removing the pasta from the pot, drain out the seawater and add in the steamed mussels and samphire. Zest and juice the lemon over the mussels and scatter over the chopped fennel. Gently combine the pasta with the mussels and serve on a heated dish with an extra drizzle of olive oil over the top.
Recipe Georgia East//KRONE
