Mussels in white wine with garlic & shallots / french bread

image courtesy of themarkethipster.com

*Part of the sizzling staffordshire menu series*

I suppose in retrospect this recipe isnt too dissimilar from the classic "moules marinieres", a french dish comprising mussels steamed in their shell with white wine, garlic and shallots. This recipe uses the sweet elements of vermouth to allow balance with the potential saltiness of the mussels.

You wlll need (serves 4):
3lbs of live mussels, de-bearded and cleaned of barnacles
4 large shallots finely diced
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
tbsp unsalted butter
100ml sweet vermouth, or even sweet cider
tsp fresh thyme finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
1/2 tsp fresh sage finely chopped
3 tbsp whipping or double cream
1 large french baguette

The doing bit:

In a large pan saute the onions, and garlic in a little oil until soft, on a moderate heat. add the mussels, butter and herbs, then put a lid on the pan and steam until the shells begin to open. Add the wine and put the lid back on until the mussels have fully opened. Finish with cream and cook without the lid for 30 seconds more.

Discard any mussels that do not open.

Tear a chink of bread, serve mussels into large bowls and devour.

Broccoli & Stilton Soup

image courtesy of lovefoodhatewaste.com

A classic soup - this combines helathy broccoli with tasty Stilton in order to crate a hearty and welcome soup. Back in the day i used to make this virtually daily, and as such this recipe employs a few tips and tricks to bring out the flavour of this wonderful soup to new heights. You wont be disappointed.

 Posted here at the request of Josh Brown, may he long enjoy this recipe :)

You will need (makes about 4-6 portions)

1 pint bechamel sauce
250ml vegetable or chicken stock
100ml white wine or dry cider
1 head of brocolli (chopped into roughly 1cm pieces - stalk included)
100g stilton
tbsp butter

The doing bit

In a large saucepan, add the butter and heat until bubbling. add the chopped broccoli and cover the pan and allow the broccoli to sweat until it begins to soften. Add the stock, bring to the boil then simmer.When the broccoli is completely soft, blend.

In a separate pan add the wine and stilton and heat gently until the cheese melts into the wine and forms a uniform paste.Heat the bechamel separately and add the cheese mix to the bechamel.

Combine cheese / bechamel mix with the broccoli blend. Cook at a simmer for a further five minutes and season if necessary.

Serve piping hot.