Giant Cromane Mussels, smokey onion, ancho chilli, mussel stock sauce

Chad Byrne

Chad Byrne

2nd January 2018
Chad Byrne

Giant Cromane Mussels, smokey onion, ancho chilli, mussel stock sauce

Mussels should be alive when you cook them and can be roasted, steamed, smoked, boiled, roasted, barbequed or pan-fried - Why not give the following Giant Cromane Mussels, smokey onion, ancho chilli, mussel stock sauce recipe a try yourself? This delicious seafood dish is from our menu at The Brehon Hotel, Killarney.

Ingredients

  • 1 centre heart of celery
  • 2 roma tomatoes or any deep flavoured tomatoes (Good Tip: the darker and stronger the vine, the fresher and better the tomato. Keep vines to flavour stews and you'll get unreal aromas.)
  • 5gr ancho chilli (get online or Mexican store food court off Liffey St)
  • I red onion, sliced thinly, sprinkle with salt and sugar and leave for ten minutes to break it down and take out the rawness.
  • 70ml rapeseed oil
  • Smoked sea salt
  • 1kg Mussels, washed and beards removed
  • Glass white wine (nolly prat)
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1 spring of thyme

Method

1. In a pot, sautée the shallots in some veg oil, add the thyme after 3mins until they are translucent, add the garlic and sautée for a further 1 min
2. Now bang up the heat till you get a proper sizzle - turn on the fans for this!
3. Add the mussels and white wine and cover with a lid
4. When they are open, they are ready, and if they don’t open, chuck’ em out!
5. When the mussels have cooled take out from the shell and keep the mussel stock liquor - thats where the gold is! Keep 50mls set aside.
6. In a blender blitz tomato, red onion and ancho chilli with the mussel stock liquor, and pour appox 70ml rapeseed oil, gently as you would a mayonnaise just to gently emulsify.
7. Pass through a fine mesh sieve and leave for a few hours for the flavours to set.
8. To serve, heat up but don’t boil the mussel sauce, heat up mussels in mussel juice with a splash of white balsamic
9. Plate up as per picture with some micro herbs
(I've used bitter and sweet leaves)
10. Sprinkle with smoked Maldon sea salt

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