Seafood Made Simple: Mussels au Gratin for a taste of Paris

Aishling Moore's garlic-butter mussels. Picture Chani Anderson

I visited Paris for a couple of days in January while I was on something of a European city Odyssey. 

Spoilt for choice in a city of 11.2 million, Paris has 109 one-Michelin star restaurants, 15 two-Michelin stars and 10 three-Michelin star restaurants. 

For context, Ireland holds five two-Michelin restaurants: Dede in Baltimore, Terre in Castlemartyr, both in Cork and Patrick Guilbaud, Liath and Chapter One by Mickael Vijanen in Dublin, along with 13 other single Michelin star restaurants across the country. 

The 2025 Michelin guide for the UK and Ireland will be revealed on February 10.

I opted for bistros over stars on this trip — looking for comfort and generosity rather than challenging and exciting. 

Casual restaurants, really, with short and simple menus that somehow seem to have something for everyone. 

Snappy service of French onion soup, escargots, croque-madams, sole meuniere, profiteroles, duck confit, saucissons and crème caramel. 

The type of food required after wrestling through the crowds of selfie sticks to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. 

In a city where the old is cherished and the new utterly embraced, some bistro menus were formulaic in their composition; others with cuisines fused. All however convivial, civilised and intentional.

My column this weekend is a nod to those beautiful dishes, with simple ingredients cooked simply. 

Some Roaring Water Bay mussels I picked up in the English Market, baked au gratin, bubbling in garlic butter and covered in crispy golden-brown breadcrumbs. 

Today's recipe offers moreish flavours with these plump regenerating jewels of the sea, without costing a fortune. 

Perfect as one of several small plates, as a warm canapé, or as the game-changing accompaniment to a bowl of chowder. 

Serve on the tray directly from the oven, or place on a shallow bowl of sea salt flakes.

Garlic Butter Mussels au Gratin

recipe by:Aishling Moore

This recipe offers moreish flavours with these plump regenerating jewels of the sea, without costing a fortune. Perfect as one of several small plates, as a warm canapé, or as the game-changing accompaniment to a bowl of chowder.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 kg mussels

• 100ml white wine

• 120g unsalted butter (at room temperature)

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

• 1 lemon juice and zest

• 120g panko breadcrumbs

• Freshly cracked black pepper

• Sea salt

Method

1. Begin by cleaning the mussels. Fill a large bowl with water and add the mussels. Using a small paring knife, remove any barnacles from the shells and the beard of the mussel. The beard is what the mussel uses to attach itself to the surface on which it grows; you’ll find it halfway up the mussel.

2. Rinse the cleaned mussels in a colander and refrigerate until just before cooking.

3. Heat a medium-sized heavy based saucepan on high. Add the cleaned mussels to the preheated pot.

4. Immediately follow with the white wine and cover with a tight-fitting lid.

5. Give it a quick shake and allow to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and pass the mussels through a colander. Allow to cool.

6. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened.

7. Pick the mussels from their shell, releasing each mussel from the adductor muscle which attaches it to the shell. Discard the half of the mussel shell with adductor muscle attached and place each picked mussel in the opposite empty shell.

8. Place the picked mussels in the shells on a flat baking tray.

9. To make the garlic butter, combine the room temperature unsalted butter, minced garlic, juice and zest of lemon and finely chopped parsley in a small bowl and mix well.

10. Lightly season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

11. Place a quarter teaspooon of the garlic butter inside each of the shells and spread across to coat the mussels.

12. Put the panko breadcrumbs on a small plate. Place the garlic butter coated mussels in the panko breadcrumbs and lightly press to neatly coat the exposed mussel.

13. Return to the flat baking tray and bake in a preheated 190°C oven for 5-6 minutes until golden brown.

Fish tales

 

• Mussels should only be cooked when alive so discard any that have cracked shells or do not close when tapped. They should smell fresh and of the seaside.
• This method also works particularly well with all kinds of clams and oysters.
• Swap parsley for any soft herb you have, such as chive or chervil.
• Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika and pinch of cayenne pepper for a spicier option.
• Everything can be made ahead of time and popped in a preheated oven, if you’re entertaining.
• Serve these immediately out of the oven, as they lose their temperature quickly.
• Season cautiously when cooking with molluscs as they are naturally high in salt.