Australian mussels are delicious, sustainable and very reasonably priced.
In fact, the reasonably priced bit can be an issue – I buy mine from Costco, where they come in a 2kg bag for just $9.99. The problem is, much as the boys and I love them (Pete’s not a fan), we just can’t get through that many mussels in one sitting.
With my last batch, I added a handful to a seafood curry, then cooked the rest as Moules Marinière. The latter is a very simple recipe, as the charming French Guy on Jamie Oliver’s YouTube explains here…
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After dinner, I deshelled all the leftover mussels and stashed them, with their residual cooking liquor, in the fridge. I thought they might be a good match with the cuttlefish ink that lovely Becca sent me a couple of weeks ago…
The risotto was made with Carnoroli rice, using the leftover Moules Marinière liquid as stock. A teaspoonful of the ink was sufficient to colour the grains a deep black, and the shelled mussels were added at the very end and simply warmed through gently. A squeeze of lemon, a scattering of spring onions, and a dollop of our chipotle mayonnaise finished the dish off…
Thanks for the fun gift, Becca! Tell me, do you like mussels? And if so, how do you prepare them?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Looks delicious, a squid ink risotto with a hand ful of mssels- briny heaven.
It was delicious – salty, but delish! :)
Great-looking dishes, Celia… mussels are one of those sometimes foods with me… Peter will eat them only very occasionally… so we have them in things like paella, risotto etc… I’m not sure he’d eat anything with the squid ink… oh well. Happy cooking lovely.
Lizzy, my Pete’s not a squid ink fan either! It’s a fun ingredient to mess around with though – I’m toying with the idea of adding it to bread! :)
2 KG of mussels would almost have my family fighting to get the last ones. One of our favourite ways to cook them requires a slow combustion, wood fired stove or a BBQ
1. melt a large dob of butter with a dash of soy sauce and finely chopped garlic, keep this warm
2. sit the unopened fresh mussels on the metal hotplate until they open.
3. simply dip the mussels into the butter and enjoy preferably with some home cooked crusty bread
Ooh, that reminds me of the French method of laying them all out over hay and setting them on fire until they open! Sounds delicious! :)
I’m not a mussel fan, sadly fish and seafood do bad things to me. John, on the other hand, would stand in a queue for mussels any day. We’re going to Costco soon so maybe we’ll give this a try.
I’m sorry to hear that, Maureen! Let John know the fresh mussels from Costco are a bargain AND delicious!
Oh, lucky duck Celia, did not know cuttlefish ink came in jars: homework ahead ’cause love the stuff and usually just get it in restaurant meals! And am again jealous of your proximity to Costco!! But next time you have an overflow of mussels you might invite our dear Finance Minister Mathias Cormann for a pleasant dinner. Hope you watched ‘the Kitchen Cabinet’ with Annabel Crabb last night – he did cook his native Belgian ‘moules et frites’ and, honestly, I have never ever seen anyone love them so much and eat them so fast :) !
Eha, I *think* Becca got the ink from Aldi! And I probably should have made chips to go with them, I thought that at the time.. :)
Hi Celia! We love mussels, even the 5 year old loves it. Have it no other way than with garlic, ginger & shallots. We always use the green NZ mussels as I like it meatier. The ones at Costco are cheap, but we get ours through a friend from the west but they come in 10kg boxes at $38! It’s a lot & very good value but that will feed us 4-5 times. I also like to make a curry soup with mussels. Your risotto looks delish, hope you & the boys are all good :)
Moya, hello! How nice to hear from you, hope all is well! How on earth do you go through 10kg of mussels while they’re still alive? :)
As they are from NZ they must be frozen, so we chuck it in the freezer to last us 4-5 serves. We had a good batch, did not have a single bad shell so far. I’ll have to try some of the Aussie ones & pick up a bag from Costco on my next visit…x
Have you been snooping around my kitchen, Celia? : ) I, too, have “sepia” ink, having bought some about 2 weeks ago. Don’t tell her but I’m going to make Zia a special dish when I visit her next. Love you risotto with mussels. We can get NZ mussels here and they’re such a treat. A few weeks ago, I posted a recipe for black rice risotto, using Italian black rice. It’s a cross between forbidden rice and an Italian variety. It’s got a wonderful flavor and cooking it is very much like cooking brown rice. Zia and I loved it!
John, I’ll have to check out your post, I’m dying to know what “forbidden” rice is! :)
My dad recently cooked mussels in wine, tomato and turmeric for us for dinner, and it was absolutely superb. I don’t know why I don’t do them more often, they’re so easy and delicious.
Fran, they’re also incredibly cheap! We should cook them more often too, I’ve decided. :)
Love mussels too and this looks great! Here’s what we make a lot in Spain http://chicaandaluza.com/2012/04/03/salpicon-de-mariscos-seafood-salad/
Ooh thanks darling, you know I love your Spanish take on things! :)
Celia, you didn’t tell us what the ink tasted like.
Glenda, it’s very nice – savoury and fishy! :)
Great recipe indeed Celia! I really like mussels but we only have them occasionally as the girls aren’t big fans of them :( I usually do them with Thai flavours with a bit of chilli zing. I’m so glad you had fun with the cuttlefish ink, a very little goes a long, long way! Xox
Becca, thanks again for the treat, I’m toying with the idea of using it in some bread next!
I’ve only recently discovered mussels – was a bit scared of them before this. I love how fresh they taste and how easy they are to prepare.
They’re so easy, aren’t they! I’m always astonished by how simple it is to prepare them!
I love mussels I can eat a whole kg my self….well they are all shell! What a lovely way to use up your cuttlefish ink.
I’ve made your green curry mussel recipe before and it was divine! :)
I love mussels, but I am not keen on the black teeth I am left with after squid ink.
I didn’t notice that, Deb, I’ll have to look carefully next time! :)
I love mussels and think they are one of our cheapest and most underrated foods. Kinkawooka mussels are my favourite and I usually pay about $10 a kilo for them. I had no idea Costco was selling mussels so cheaply. I’ll have to check it out (though I’m not a member at the moment, and I’m not sure I want to join just to save a few $$ on mussels!)
Chris, it’s a fine balance isn’t it, decided whether the $60/year membership is worth it. Definitely is for us, but I buy booze and stationary there as well! :)
We love mussels! Cheap and quick to cook means they tick all the boxes.
You’re post sent me googling to see if I could get ink over here and I can! An online fishmonger sells it in large jars or sachets. What fun.
Pat, have fun with it! I’m still experimenting as well! :)
I love mussels & cuttlefish & ink, hahah. I had cuttlefish cooked in ink with polenta once and that was great, so this sounds right up my alley. A lot of people here are squeamish about it for some reason though.
I guess it’s whatever you’re familiar with – both the Italians and the Asians use it a lot here! :)
I live landlocked and haven’t had much of a chance to work with fresh seafood until the last 6 years – so mussels haven’t been an item on my cooklist for very long- garlic and olive oil w/soy sauce is the only way I’ve cooked them.
I’ve never tasted the ink- rather intriquing.
Heidi, it’s quite easy to buy here – I’m going to try adding it to bread dough next!
Those mussels sure look plump and juicy. I love them but unable to get good quality where I live. $9.99 for 2 kg bag is a great price, don’t have a Costco where I live but will check it out when I visit my daughter.
Norma, the mussels are local Australian grown, so not sure if you’d get them there. Worth looking though! :)
Mussels aren’t my thing but hubby and two of the boys love them.
You’re like my Pete – I guess it’s one of those “love them or hate them” foods! :)
Oh I love mussels, but rarely cook them as it’s only me here that eats them. So I just go out for dinner and order them :) My favourite is of course Moules Marinière, although I had some recently that came in a Thai influenced broth – think limes leaves and lemon grass
I think I’d love them Thai style! They’re certainly good added to a fish curry!
My family likes curried mussels in a coconut milk sauce. I have never seen the cuttlefish ink in the store here in the US, I’ll have to keep my eye out for it. I think I’ve only seen it made into pasta.
Liz, it’s quite a recent thing here – last ten years or so only – but it’s now quite widely available!
My favourite, though haven’t made in years and years, is :- steamed first, then opened, top shell taken off, filled with garlic butter Nd a liitle finely chopped parsley and then under the gril till sizzling l, hunk of bread. never any left. Fiddly but delicious. x jo
Ooh yes, that sounds both fiddly AND delicious, and well worth the effort, I suspect! I’ll give it a go next time!
Mussels and I don’t get along but I do love the look of your risotto and I love what you did with your gift from Rebecca xx
That’s a shame, Charlie! See you soon! xx
YUM! I’m with you, I love mussels… and I didn’t know you could buy ink in a jar!!! i would love to make ink pasta… next on my list :) Liz x
Liz, I think Becca bought it at Aldi! Worth a look! :)
I would love to like mussels as they are such as cheap and sustainable seafood but the only times I’ve had them they were like a mouthful of chewy gristly yuck – is that just badly cooked mussels? I have no problem with strange flavours, but I’m very squeamish about textures for some reason :(
Beck
Beck, Pete doesn’t like the texture either – raw oysters are the worst!
I’ve pretty much decided to leave oysters to the fans (i.e. the rest of my family) after gagging on one and nearly embarrassing myself in a very nice restaurant!
LOVE mussels. We serve petite ones at the restaurant (not too small) with spicy sausage and a broth that’s to die for. The bread is amazing so a good mopping is in order. I should make mussels at home more often because it is so quick to do. Thanks for the inspiration! Your risotto is beautiful.
PS- we also do a squid ink tagliatelle with spanner crap, nigella seeds and scallions… Reminds me of this risotto + some of your previous crab pastas! xx
Em, you’re always full of such good suggestions – I can imagine how delicious sausage and mussels in broth would be!
Oh do I LOVE mussels!!! I could eat just mussels with bread dipped in the cream sauce or have them over pasta – I can’t think of any way that doesn’t make my mouth very happy. That said, I do hate scrubbing the shells & yanking those beards off, but that’s the price to pay.
This is a very old post, but I’ve had good luck w/this recipe now that I don’t make the mistake of putting the mussels in the mixer!
https://dianeskitchentable.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=710&action=edit
Diane, thanks for the link, I’ll have a look! Most of the mussels we get here come precleaned, which is a bonus! :)
Precleaned mussels? I never seen anything like that here but can tell you I’d have mussels in some form or another every night if it weren’t for the cleaning & beard pulling.
We love mussels and all sorts of shellfish. I can’t wait to use my cuttlefish ink. Rebecca had the best gift for buying presents doesn’t she!
She really does! :)
Sadly I don’t trust any mussel I can get here. The vac-packed ones look so depressing. Love them best good old Marinere with tons of parsley and garlic.