There's a great restaurant in New York that serves pot after pot of steamed mussels, some in a simple white wine broth, some in a potent curry. It's a favorite spot for my boyfriend and I: a bottle of wine, two pots of mussels—that's a great date night. But while the pots are generous, they don't come cheap. And so, for the longest time, I always assumed that mussels were expensive—a luxury that was better consumed in a restaurant than prepared at home.
I was wrong. Mussels are cheap—dead cheap. Two pounds of the bivalves, which is enough to feed two people as a main course, sets me back just $6.99 at my local Whole Foods. They're also eco-friendly: the majority of mussels found on the market are farm-raised, rather than wild, and are farmed in an environmentally sustainable way thanks to stringent regulations. The best part? You don't need a recipe to prepare them. Just follow this basic method:
1. Clean the mussels.
Farm-raised mussels are usually pretty clean, which means you don't have to soak, scrub, and debeard them (the tedious task of removing their tough, stringy membrane) like you do with wild mussels. Simply dump them in a colander and rinse them well under cold water.
2. Sauté some aromatics.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil or butter in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add a handful of chopped aromatics—garlic, shallots, onion, leeks, or a combination of a few—and sauté with a big sprinkle of salt, a grind of black pepper, and maybe a pinch of red pepper flakes, until softened.
3. Start steaming.
Pour in enough liquid to fill the pot about 1/4 inch (white wine is classic, but rosé, beer, broth and cider all work, too), along with a bay leaf and/or a handful of finely chopped herbs such as thyme, tarragon, and rosemary. If you want a tomato-based broth, stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste. Add the mussels to the pot, cover, and let steam for 5 minutes, shaking the pot once or twice to distribute the mussels. Remove the lid: if most of the mussels have opened, they're done. If not, cover and steam for a few more minutes until they do.
4. Finish the sauce and serve.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mussels to individual bowls. Taste the sauce left in the pot and add more salt if needed. To make the sauce creamy, stir in a bit of heavy cream or crème fraîche, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, or both. Pour the sauce generously over each bowl of mussels and serve with crusty bread, a simple salad, and a big bowl to toss the empty shells in. You'll never order overpriced mussels at a restaurant again.
