The table of old times,
The Book of Recipes

FISH MUSSELS

Period: 17th century / Category: entry

La Varenne, The François cook

Ingredients

for 6 persons :

  • 1.5 kg of bouchot mussels
  • 1 bouquet garni
  • 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
  • 50g butter
  • 1 small pinch of ground or grated nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 small bunch of chopped fresh chives
  • 3 egg yolks
  • juice of half a lemon
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil

The preparation

1- Wash the mussels in cold water.
If necessary, remove their 'beard' as well as any rough edges on the shells using a small knife. Rinse the mussels with cold water until the water runs clear. Be careful to remove any raw mussels that are already open or floating on the surface. 2- Place the mussels in a large pot with the bouquet garni, cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir occasionally until all the mussels are open. Remove the lid, turn off the heat and let cool. Discard any mussels that have not opened. 3- Shell the mussels, keeping the best shells for the final decoration.
Filter the cooking juice and reserve. 4- In a pan, brown the shallot well in the butter, then add the mussels, nutmeg, parsley and chives. Sauté the mixture for a minute and remove from heat.

5- In a small pot, beat the egg yolks with a ladle and a half of mussel cooking juice and cook for between 3 and 5 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning. 6- Arrange the mussels in individual cups and top with the hot sauce.

7- Decorate with mussel shells and chopped chervil and serve.

Annotations

• If the sauce is too dense, you can dilute it further with hot cooking juices from the mussels.