Country 17: Belgium - Moules Frites

First, A Tangent...

Let me talk about my boyfriend for a bit. Not him specifically, but his allergies.

He is the person I know with the most food allergies. He's allergic to nuts, peanuts, shellfish, and molluscs, and kiwifruit, and sesame seeds. I am allergic to wasp stings. So far, no food has tried to kill me.

His allergies are the reason for the nut-free element of this project. For the most part, I will endeavor to cook all of my meals with all of his allergies in mind - I am nothing if not a conscientious girlfriend. However, for my Belgium meal, I knew I wanted to cook moules frites - mussels and fries. And that posed a problem: Nick can't eat mussels on the account that they will kill him. I'm not kidding - he carries two Epipens around wherever he goes and I could go on a huge tangent about all the complications it poses when we go out for meals together. Another time, perhaps.

Anyway, it meant that I was cooking for one this evening. A dinner alone, just me, myself, and I. The downside to this is that I don't have anyone to share the experience with. Even worse, I have to do all the dishes myself. But I digress.

Moules-Frites - A Belgian Specialty

While the name of the dish is French, moules-frites is thought to have originated in Belgium. Certainly, it is the national dish of the country. According to Wikipedia, it is thought that the dish was originally created by combining mussels with fried potatoes. Mussels were a popular and inexpensive item that was commonly found around the Flemish coast, while potatoes were readily available throughout the year.

There are different versions of moules to be devoured, but I went for the typical moules mariniere which is the most internationally recognised version. The sauce is made from white wine, onions, parsley, and butter. You've probably had it, know it, love it (unless you're my partner who sadly has never had the joy of trying such a delicious dish).

This was EASY to prepare. It probably took me about the amount of time to cook the mussels as it did for the fries to bake in the oven - although, I did use fries bought from the shop rather than making them myself.  And while I was doing the cooking, I was able to do most of the dishes at the same time. Fantastic!

I do think that the mussels that you get over here in Europe are incomparable to the ones from back home. I was video calling my mum who is still in New Zealand after I finished eating, and we were laughing about her memory of eating mussels in Paris that were the size of her fingernails. Sadly, this was the case with my meal as well. In New Zealand you can get mussels that are the length of your entire pinky finger, and they are just as delicious. I remember when I was working at a restaurant in Wellington and we'd serve huge bowls of steaming mussels and nobody needed to ask for more food because the mussels were that big! My bag of mussels from Waitrose said that there were two servings in the pack, but I ate all of them. I think I probably wouldn't have been full if it wasn't for the fries, but that's European food for you.

I think I may have reduced the sauce a little too much, but I just splashed some extra white wine in there to make up for it. Beggars can't be chooser, eh? Ultimately, this dish was the epitome of comfort food that I slurped down very happily. The butter and onions made the kitchen smell absolutely incredible as they gently fried away, and the parsley added a nice spark of green to my (otherwise beige) meal. The fries were perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside and soft and potatoey in the middle, which I used to wipe up the leftover sauce at the bottom of my bowl.

I enjoyed this. I hope you do too.

Moules Marineire et Frites
Serves 1 large portion

Ingredients

• 400g mussels (including the shells)
• 7g butter
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 7g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 50mL white wine
• 50mL water
• 50mL single cream
• 300g frozen French fries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to the temperature required for the oven fries. When the temperature is ready, put your fries on a baking tray and place in the oven for the amount of time needed - follow the instructions on the bag. 
2. Prepare the mussels. Run them under a cold tap to remove any grit, and use a knife to remove barnacles. Discard any mussels that are cracked. If you're using fresh mussels, give them a tap on the chopping board and throw away any that do not close. Mine were not fresh (pre-packaged from Waitrose) so mine didn't close. If they're fresh, you'll also want to remove the beards as they're not very tasty.
3. Place a large, deep saucepan over a low heat. Add butter, onion, and spring onions and cover the pot with a lid. Allow to gently fry for about 10 minutes - you don't want them to caramelize, just stay soft and sweet. 
4. Add garlic and half the parsley, and fry for 2 minutes. 
5. Pour in the wine and water. Remove lid and increase the heat to a simmer. 
6. Add the mussels, increase to a high temperature and cover with the lid to retain the steam. Cook for 5 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally so that all the mussels are cooked. Remove the lid after 5 minutes and check to see if the mussels are open. If most of them are still closed, put the lid back on and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. 
7. Tip the mussels into a colander with a bowl underneath, to catch the liquid. Discard any mussels that are still closed. Cover the mussels with a lid to keep warm while you make the sauce.
8. Tip liquid back into saucepan and boil for a few minutes until it has reduced by about half. Once diluted, remove from the heat and add in the cream. 
9. Transfer mussels to a serving bowl and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle over remaining parsley, and serve with the fries.