Moules Marinières is simply mussels cooked in white wine, onions, herbs and tiny splash of cream. Moules Marinière is one the classic French dishes that you can find at any Brasseries in France when mussels are in season. As you may know, Belgium is a nation that is internationally well-known for its Mussels and Fries (Moules Frits).
There are many ways to cook mussels, such as Mouclade (Baked Mussels), Moules à la Provençale (Mussels Provence-Style) and Moules Au Curry (Mussels in Curry Sauce). Amongst the 3 ways of cooking mussels, I love Moules Au Curry (Mussels in Curry Sauce) a lot! You may be thinking that it could be a slightly spicy dish for French people. In fact, it’s not so. In France, curry powder they use is not as pungent as what we use in Malaysia. I learnt that Ducros curry powder is very much widely used. I bought one when I was in France, it is a mild curry powder.
Moules Marinières is the second mussels dish that I’ve made so far. I once cooked Mussels in Herby Tomato Sauce,if you have not tried this.
Moules Marinières is not a time consuming dish. It takes probably 45 minutes overall to get Moules Marinière served. One important thing is to always remember to throw away those mussels that haven’t opened after 3 minutes of cooking!
Here’s the recipe that I have taken from A Little Taste of France.
For 4 persons
Ingredients:
Mussels, 2kg
Butter, 40g
Large onion (chopped), 1
Celery stalk (chopped), 1/2
Garlic cloves (crushed), 2
White wine, 410ml
Bay leaf, 1
Thyme sprigs, 2
Double cream, 185ml
Parsley (chopped), 2 tbsp
Method:
1. Scrub the mussels an remove their beards.
2. Discard any that are open already and don’t close when tapped on the work surface.
3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the onion, celery and garlic. Stirring occasionally, over moderate heat until the onion is softened but not browned.
4. Add the wine, bay leaf and thyme to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the mussels, cover the saucepan tightly and simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
5. Use tongs to lift out the mussels as they open, putting them into a warm dish. Throw away any mussels that haven’t opened after 3 minutes.
6. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, leaving behind any grit or sand.
7. Bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes.
8. Add the cream and reheat the sauce without boiling. Season well.
9. Serve the mussels in individual bowls with the liquid poured over.
10. Sprinkle with the parsley.
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October 24th, 2008 at 8:16 am
HMMMM
that looks so yummy…. 
October 24th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Excellent dish! I love moules mariniere!!
October 24th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I can eat 2 bowls of mussels! Can you believe it? I agree that mussels in Belgium are sooooo good!
October 24th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Vey nice picture, Mussels are full of vitamins and can be cooked in many ways, I like it a lot.
October 26th, 2008 at 6:27 am
I love this sooooo much, in London, I went to Belgo for a pot of mussels and the ones baked with cheese, but the best ones is the one I got in south of France. Pure heaven. I wish I can find this more in CA.
October 26th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Claire, John, Michael,
Thanks for your comment I love moules mariniere so much that when I had at least 3 times for lunch!
October 26th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Rasa Malaysia,
Is it not possible to find moules mariniere in CA?
October 26th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Kristin,
Yeh, it tastes good! Do you like mussels?
October 26th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
This is my favorite way to eat mussels by far – but I do usually make it without the cream. I find it just makes the dish too heavy for those delicate little mussels.
I tend never to order mussels that much when I am out… Here in Seattle we are able to buy exceptional mussels dirt cheap – about 4bucks covers enough for two large bowls of mussels. Paying 10bucks for Moules Marinières in a restaurant just makes me choke.
Rasa – I would just buy some fresh mussels from Santa Monica seafood (is that what it is called?), and make it yourself.
The biggest problem I have with mussels is cleaning them. It is complete torture. The only solution I have found for this is to invite over a guest, and suggest that they help make lunch!
Great picture BTW.
October 26th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Matt,
I do agree that I prefer without cream too.
Well, talking about ordering mussels at the restaurant, I guess, in London, it’s over £10! It’s such a ripped off. I can get at about £4 for 1kg – still I think it should be cheaper than this!
I was pretty lucky to get those big mussels at Borough Market though.
When I made this dish, I didn’t have to clean the mussels as my bf tend to do it
Thank you for your comment!!
October 26th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
The mussels in Norway are very fresh and available throughout the year. We normally boil mussels in water until cooked, then dip them with chili sauce, soy sauce & vinegar. Sometimes, we did stir-fry mussels with simple ingredients like onion & ginger.
The mussels look delicious! Will try one day.
Thanks!
limpepsi
October 30th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Pepsi,
I bet there mussels in Norway are fresh and big, no? I was quite lucky to get those massive ones… sometimes they are pretty small.. I reckon stir fry in chili would be good too!!
Moules Marinières is the French classic that I love so much..
October 30th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Can you believe I went to Belgium and didn’t have the mussels?! I could kick myself now, but at the time, I had never eaten mussels before and thought I would hate them. Since my trip, I’ve tried them in America and I love mussels!
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Hillary,
You have an excuse to go to Belgium again! I love Brussels so much!