Aishling Moore: How to make devilled fisherman’s toast with shallot salad

It’s a stunning little number that is great served for breakfast or brunch.

Devilled mussels on toast, recipe by Aishling Moore: Picture Chani Anderson

Devilled mussels on toast with a very simple parsley and shallot salad is on the menu this weekend. It’s a stunning little number that works as a starter for a dinner party, a leisurely lunch, or a light supper and is great too served for breakfast or brunch.

I have enjoyed devilled lambs’ kidneys for breakfast a couple of times at one of my favourite restaurants, Fergus Henderson’s St John in London.

When I last visited St. John in Neal’s Yard, devilled chicken hearts were on the menu and it reminded me of a devilled sardine dish we had been serving in the first couple of weeks at Goldie, which was of course inspired by eating at St John.

Any food that’s described as ‘devilled’ implies that the dish has been prepared with spiced seasonings, often cayenne pepper, mustard powder, and black pepper, sometimes you might see a little curry powder added too.

For me, any devilled dish must include Worcestershire sauce, which adds essential umami.

So, it’s an application that works particularly well with strong tasting foods and seasons a couple of handfuls of steamed and deshelled mussels handsomely. It’s essential to give the mussels a good clean before 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.

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

Fisherman’s toast with shallot salad

recipe by:Aishling Moore

Devilled mussels on toast with a very simple parsley and shallot salad is on the menu. It’s a stunning little number that works as a starter for a dinner party, a leisurely lunch, or a light supper and is great too served for breakfast or brunch.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the fisherman’s toast

• 1kg mussels

• 150ml dry white wine

• 2 tbsp golden rapeseed oil

• 3 cloves garlic finely sliced

• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked

• black pepper

• 1tsp smoked paprika

• 1tsp English mustard powder

• 50ml apple cider vinegar

• 1tsp of Worcestershire sauce

• 4 slices sourdough bread .toasted

• For the parsley and shallot salad

• 1 bunch fat leaf parsley

• 1 shallot

• I lemon zest and juice

• 1tb sp golden rapeseed oil

• Sea salt flakes

Method

1. Heat a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan on high. Add the cleaned mussels to the preheated pot, immediately follow with the white wine and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Give it a quick shake and allow to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and pass the mussels through a colander with a bowl underneath to catch the cooking liquor. Allow to cool.

2. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened. Pick the muscles from their shell, releasing each muscle from the adductor muscle which attaches it to the shell. Place the picked mussels in a small bowl and discard the shells.

3. Heat a large heavy based saucepan on medium heat.

4. Warm the rapeseed oil and add the sliced garlic. Cook until golden brown then add the cracked black pepper, mustard powder and smoked paprika, cook for 1 minute then add the apple cider vinegar, bring to the boil and reduce for 1 minute. Add the picked mussels and warm through, finish with the Worcestershire sauce before serving on warm sourdough bread that’s been toasted in butter on a large frying pan over medium heat. Garnish with the parsley and shallot salad.

5. To make the salad, pik the leaves of the parsley and place in a small bowl. Reserve the stalks of the parsley for another use.

6. Finely slice the shallot and add to the picked parsley leaves.

7. Add the juice and zest of 1 lemon and the golden rapeseed oil, season with sea salt and dress well just before serving

Fish tales

The devilled mussels can be made ahead of time and warmed through just before serving if you’re ntertaining.

Swap the white wine with a local dry cider if you’d prefer. You could also just steam the
mussels in water if you’d like to avoid alcohol.

Swap the apple cider vinegar for white wine or rice wine vinegar.

Replace the parsley in the shallot salad with chervil or dill or do a combination of all three.

If you don’t have a shallot handy, swap for a small white or red onion or some finely sliced scallion.

Choose thick cut sourdough or yeast batch bread for this recipe, to mop up all that sauce.