Be French for the Night: Curry Moules Frites

I used to go to Normandy, France at least once a year to visit my ex's family. While there, one of my favorite out-trips was to go to the quaint fishing village of Honfleur. Sitting by the harbor, you can dine by candlelight on amazing seafood scooped right up from the sea. I gorged on whelks, snails, shrimp, and, of course, mussels. The French are really creative with the number of ways they serve mussels, but my absolute favorite is moules marinière à la crème et au curry (aka Curry Mussels). They are always served with double-fried fries and baguettes to tear and dip.

I’ve been craving mussels since the beginning of the pandemic. In “Before Times”, one of my besties and I would go out, get big bowls of mussels, and tuck bread into the sauce - allowing the chunks of bread to get soaked through as we talked and drank wine (both of us "marinating"). This recipe is my attempt to meld both experiences, cobbling together several online recipes. I’m the only bivalve eater in the house, so this was just for me.

1.5lb Mussels [I always buy more than I need - you'll find out why below]

⅓ c. flour

6oz dry white wine

1 c. fresh cream

3TB Butter

3 shallots, minced

1 tbsp. curry powder

Salt

Ground pepper

You need to make sure you aren’t cooking/eating dead mussels so before doing anything check any mussels that are open (even cracked). You lightly tap them on the edge - if they close on their own, you’re good; if not, throw them away. Take all the good ones and put them in 2 liters of water with the flour. Soak for 30 minutes and the mussels will spit out all the sand that they might be hiding. Afterward, rinse well.

Pick a pot with a lid that’s about the right size for the mussels. In a pot with the butter, sweat the shallots. Then add the mussels and white wine, along with salt and pepper. [Don't judge the fact that I keep mini bottles of cheap white wine for cooking! Here, with the curry being the stronger flavor, it wouldn't make sense to waste my beautiful open EnRoute Chardonnay.]

Cover and cook, stirring regularly, until the mussels are open (7-10 minutes). Then, take them out with a slotted spoon and set them aside. [If any haven't opened, discard them - they aren't good]

Add curry and cream to the pan juices while whisking and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust the seasoning [Mine needed a good amount of kosher salt].

Return the mussels to the pot and heat through for a few minutes, stirring.

Divide them into large bowls, drizzle with curry sauce and serve immediately.

This was exactly how I remember these mussels. I could have drank the sauce. My bread dipping was interrupted by toddler bedtime, otherwise, I would have continued my dunking, soaking, and scooping until stuffed. Instead of frying, I made Chrissy Teigen's salt and vinegar oven fries from a previous post. I can't wait until I can have company over and make these beauties for others who will appreciate their deliciousness. Who wants to come over first?