Donal Skehan's Mussels with Irish Cider Cream Sauce

About

Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 2 kg fresh mussels 2 tablespoons butter 125 grams bacon, diced 1 large shallot, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 sprigs fresh thyme 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard 300ml hard cider 4 tablespoons 35% whipping cream Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Handful flat leaf parsley, chopped To serve: Crusty bread Directions Prepare your mussels: place mussels in a bowl of cold water and sort through. Put any mussels that are open to one side. Tap each of these mussels against a hard surface and if they snap shut, the mussel is still alive and suitable to eat. If they stay open when tapped, discard them. Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over a medium heat alongside the bacon. Cook bacon until slightly crisp before adding shallot. Add shallot and cook for 2 minutes before adding garlic. Stir these around for a few minutes and add the leaves of the thyme sprigs. Add in mustard, cider and stir. Allow sauce to come to a steady simmer and add in the prepped mussels. Turn up heat, cover with lid, and allow mussels to steam until they have opened up, usually for about 6 minutes, stirring halfway through. Strain the mussels into a colander, keeping the cooking liquid. Set aside mussels and bring the pan back up to a medium heat, adding the cream to the cooking liquid. Allow to come to a steady simmer & season to taste. Pour the creamy sauce over the mussels, sprinkle with parsley & serve immediately with crusty sourdough bread.