Aishling Moore: The ultimate curried mussels with shoestring fries dish

Goldie Marking: XX Jillian Bolger: 20/11/25: Moules Fritzs by Aishling Moore: Picture Chani Anderson

Moules frites is the ultimate mussel dish. Crisp fried chips make the perfect vessel for dipping and dunking into the luxurious oceanic broth released from the cooked mussels.

There are many variations of the aromatics used to add flavour to this dish, in some recipes you’ll find cream or butter added others include chilli and ginger.

Here I’ve added a little curry powder for extra spice and a touch of turmeric for its luminous colour which accentuates the orange coloured female mussels and lifts the paler coloured male mussels.

The addition of fresh herbs takes any homecooked dish from good to great, here I’ve finished the dish with chopped chervil but you could use coriander or flat leaf parsley.

For the perfect chip you need to first start with the perfect spuds. Markies and Maris - piper are the varieties that work best ,yielding a soft interior and crisp golden exterior.

I have had success with rooster potatoes on occasion, but for the most part I find they are too high in sugar – browning too quickly before they have a chance to get crisp.

Making sure the chips are cut to the same size is imperative for even cooking. So pick your desired chip - thick cut, shoestring or somewhere in between but please, keep them uniform!

Once prepped, washing is a key step to remove all the excess starch.

For a shoestring chip, I find one blanch first , at a lower temperature of 160 degrees Celsius, then cooled completely before its final blanch at 180 degrees Celsius does the trick.

Spuds vary so do trust your instinct the most important part in the cooking process is that the chips are cooked through before their final blanch in the hot oil. Season generously with lots of Irish sea salt flakes.

Curried mussels with shoestring fries

recipe by:Aishling Moore

Moules frites is the ultimate mussel dish. Crisp fried chips make the perfect vessel for dipping and dunking into the luxurious oceanic broth released from the cooked mussels.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 2 kg mussels

• 3 tbsp golden rapeseed oil

• 2 shallots, finely diced

• 5 cloves garlic, finely sliced

• 1 tsp Madras curry powder

• ½ tsp turmeric

• 200ml white wine

• 1 lemon

• 1 bunch chervil

• For the fries

• 500g Maris Piper potatoes

• Vegetable oil for cooking

• Sea salt

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Method

1. Cut the potatoes into slender 6mm wide chips.

2. Rinse well under cold running water.

3. Heat a deep-fat fryer to 160 degrees Celsius.

4. Drain the chips well before placing in the fryer and fry in batches until the potatoes are fully cooked through but without colour. This will take between 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chip.

5. Drain and place on a large baking tray to cool quickly.

6. Turn the fryer up to 180°C and cook again in batches, depending on the size of the fryer for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

7. Drain well to remove excess oil and season generously with sea salt.

8. To prepare the mussels, begin by cleaning them.

9. Fill a large bowl with water and add the mussels to the water. 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 of which it grows.

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

11. In a heavy-based large pot on medium-low heat, sweat the finely diced shallot and garlic in rapeseed oil until softened. Approximately 3 minutes.

12. Add the curry powder and ground turmeric and cook for 1 minute to bloom the spices.

13. Turn the heat up to high and add the mussels to the pot. Immediately follow by adding the white wine. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pot. Give the pot a little shake and leave to cook covered for 3 – 4 minutes.

14. Remove the lid and give the mussels a good stir. All the mussels should be cooked and open at this stage, discard any that haven’t opened.

15. Remove from the heat, finish with the juice of a lemon and serve in warm bowls with chips and garnish with chervil.

Fish tales

· Rinsing the potatoes in cold running water to remove excess starch is a key step to result in a crispy chip.

· If you don’t have a deep-fryer a thermometer is essential. Use a heavy-based pot or casserole and fill it no more than halfway with oil.

· Make sure the chips are fully submerged under the oil when frying, making for even cooking.

· 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.

· It’s very important when seasoning shellfish dishes to taste before you add any salt. Mussels are naturally high in salt.

· Swap the mussels for some surf clams, cockles or a combination of all three.