Author Notes
Last summer I enjoyed a sumptuous dinner in a beautiful candle lit garden at an old villa surrounded by fragrant Stephanotis and Plumbago in the Mediterranean. My dear friend Vanessa treated us to the freshest seafood, prepared in inspiring variations. We started the dinner with mussels cooked with coriander, turmeric, cayenne and ginger in a wonderful broth made with coconut milk and lemon. She inspired me to this recipe, I just added some more spices and vegetables and replaced the coconut milk with white wine. —Meike Peters | eat in my kitchen
Test Kitchen Notes
WHO: Meike Peters ° eat in my kitchen is a food blogger and photographer living in Berlin.
WHAT: A big pot of herby-spicy mussels that comes together in minutes.
HOW: Sauté your ginger, lemongrass, garlic, and vegetables; mix in spices, white wine, and lemon juice; steam your mussels. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
WHY WE LOVE IT: This is just the kind of light seafood dish we crave when the weather starts getting warm; we love the intensity of the spices and aromatics, and how quickly it goes from the stove to the table. We recommend some good crusty bread to sop up that broth -- and a glass of crisp white wine. —The Editors
Ingredients
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2 tablespoons
oil for frying
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1
Thumbnail-sized knob of ginger, grated
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one
3-inch piece lemongrass, cut into thin slices
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1
clove garlic, crushed
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2
spring onions, cut into slices
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1
carrot, cut into cubes
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1 teaspoon
coriander seeds, ground
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1/3 teaspoon
turmeric, ground
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1/8 teaspoon
cayenne pepper, ground
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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250 milliliters
white wine
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1 tablespoon
lemon juice
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2 pounds
mussels, rinsed
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Handful
Fresh coriander, chopped
Directions
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Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the ginger, lemongrass, garlic and vegetables for a couple minutes. Add the ground spices, mix and fry for another minute.
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Pour the wine and lemon juice into the pot and bring to the boil, season with salt.
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Add the mussels and mix with the liquid. Close with a lid and turn down the heat to the lowest temperature. Steam for 5 minutes or until the shells open.
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Take out the mussels which didn’t open, you should not eat them! Mix in the coriander leaves and serve on big plates.
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