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Saturday, 20 November 2010

Velouté aux moules





An elegant starter for a menu taking advantage of the mussel season.
I apologize for the picture - I guess a course in photography should be one of my next projects.


click here for a printable version

To prepare the mussels:


1                   Onion
100 ml           Fish stock
100 ml           White wine
1 kg               Mussels, washed and cleaned
2 tbsp            Olive oil
2                    Garlic cloves


To prepare the Velouté:


2 tbsp            Olive oil
1                    Fennel bulb, cut into thin slices
1/4 tsp           Fennel seeds
1 piece          Orange peel (app. 10 cm)
1 tbsp             Flour
2 tsp               Tomato paste
300 ml            Fish stock
                        Reserved cooking liquid from the mussels
100 ml            Heavy cream
1 capsule       Saffron
                        Salt, freshly ground white pepper              


For serving:


Fennel cut into brunoise (small dice)
Fennel green, chopped




Cut the onion in thin slices and chop the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan with cover and sauté the onions and the garlic. Deglaze with the wine and let evaporate a little. Add the fish stock. Once boiling, add the mussels, cover and  let boil until all the shells have opened. Pass through a sieve and reserve the cooking liquid. Sort out all the closed shells. Separate the meat from the shells and reserve.


Clean the fennel bulb and cut into thin slices. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the fennel and the fennel seeds until the fennel is tender. Add the flour and the tomato paste and cook over medium heat for three minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk - with a wire whisk - in the fish stock and the reserved cooking liquid (passed through a very fine sieve previously). Add the orange peel and let cook for 10 minutes.


Strain once more through a sieve and return to the cleaned pot. Add the saffron and cream and continue to cook over low heat for 5 more minutes.


Divide the mussels into individual bowls, fill in the hot soup and sprinkle with fennel brunoise and fennel green.



©just-cook!






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