Steamed mussels and pommes frites – or French fries as they’re commonly known – is a popular summer dish in Belgium. To adhere to tradition serve the frites with creamy mayonnaise.
Serves 4
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
750g potatoes, peeled,
cut into chips
20g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
1 cup white wine
300ml thickened cream
1kg mussels in half shell,
cleaned, debearded
¼ cup parsley leaves (optional),
roughly chopped, to serve
1 cup whole egg mayonnaise
1 Preheat oven to 200C. Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan until half full and put over medium-high heat. When hot add one-third of the chips and deep-fry for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a baking tray. Deep-fry remaining portions. Transfer tray to oven.
2 Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When butter has melted add onion and cook for 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute. Pour wine and cream into saucepan. Stir until well combined. Bring to the boil. Add mussels and cover saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes or until mussels are heated through. Serve mussels immediately, drizzled with sauce and sprinkled with parsley (optional), with chips and mayonnaise on the side.