Mussels in White Wine Cream Sauce
Plump mussels steamed open in white wine, then finished with a silky garlic-shallot cream sauce and fresh parsley. Serve with toasted baguette for dipping.
- Total
- 20 min
- Prep 8 · Cook 12
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Sweating · Steaming
- Savory
- Quick
- French
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Scrub the mussels under cold running water and pull off any beards. Discard any that stay open when tapped. Drain well in a colander.
~5 min
Tapping triggers a live mussel to close; open ones are dead and unsafe to eat.
Discard any mussel that stays open before cooking or refuses to open after steaming. This is the only reliable freshness test.
-
Finely chop the shallots and garlic. Pick the parsley leaves and chop roughly. Slice the baguette into 2 cm slices.
~3 min
-
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the large pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
~3 min
Sweating shallots in oil without browning builds sweetness; garlic added late prevents bitter burning.
Sweating Cook shallots over medium heat until soft and translucent without browning. If they start to color, lower the heat; browned shallots turn bitter.
-
Pour in 150 ml white wine and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover with the lid, and steam until the shells open, 4 to 5 minutes. Shake the pot once halfway through.
~5 min
Steam heat forces shells open; closed ones after cooking are dead and must be discarded.
Steaming Keep the lid on and steam just until shells open, 4–5 minutes. Overcooking toughens the meat; discard any that stay closed.
-
While step 4 cooks
While the mussels steam, toast the baguette slices in the oven at 200°C until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes.
~4 min
-
Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon to a warm bowl and discard any that remain closed. Stir 100 ml cream into the pot and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with 0.5 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~2 min
Simmering evaporates water and concentrates the sauce so it clings to mussels instead of pooling.
Add the cream off a hard boil and swirl rather than whisk, so the sauce stays silky instead of splitting.
-
Return the mussels to the pot, add the chopped parsley, and toss to coat in the sauce. Serve immediately with the toasted baguette.
~1 min