Sweet Lord. What a bloody hectic weekend. Forget the fact that I have a frightening work load ahead of me and further meetings with lawyers, accountants and mortgage brokers but we just blew 45K (with help from boyfriend and father) on a TV, a TV license, a washing machine, a lounge suite, a TV stand a bed, a headboard, 2 side tables, an iron, a kettle, a toaster and a kick-ass set of pots and pans. The pots and pans were essential, as you can imagine. Although we are yet to own a fork or a knife or a spoon, but slowly slowly. We will get there. It was seriously stressful and from not knowing Fourways from Fiveways, I now know the place like the back of my hand. I don't know if I should be proud, or not.
We ended the shopping spree with a weekly grocery shop. Now, we need to eat what is in our freezer and cupboard for the next few weeks so we don't have to shlep food as well as everything else (freaking out a little as I write). Anyhoo, we bought veggies and a chicken and dum dum dum... some mussel meat. I am cooking an awesome chicken pot roast for tonight which I will post later in the week as you already got your chicken installment on Friday.
The recipe I will give you tonight is a meal I will be cooking for guests on Wednesday. It is made with mussel meat which you can buy from any fishmongers or Pick n Pay. I am not sure about Woolies as I have only seen shelled New Zealand green-lipped mussels there. These are great and huge in size and meaty as you like but damn expensive and I can not under any circumstances justify eating mussels flown in from across the world when our country is surrounded by a coast teaming with wonderful fish and seafood.
They come frozen and are so cheap, I paid R44 for enough to feed 4 or 5 people and they really make a great meal. For some reason though I keep forgetting about this recipe. You can also cook mussels in white wine and cream which is classically referred to as moules marinière but as previously mentioned, cream is really not my bag and I prefer the healthier tomato option. It is so quick and so easy and a hearty meal for a winter's evening. It is also great for guests as it is cheap to prepare and goes so far.
Don't be scared to cook something you have never handled before in terms of meat or fish, especially with mussels as you really, really can't mess it up.
When you do cook this dish, make sure you have defrosted your mussels and have drained them of all excess water. Do not leave out once thawed though as this could be dangerous.
Ingredients:
1 large packet of shelled mussel meat
2 roughly chopped cloves of garlic
2 chopped onions
generous handful of thyme
olive oil
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of soya sauce
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
black pepper
Method:
NB: YOU WILL NEED A LARGE POT FOR THIS
fry your chopped onion in a little olive oil on a medium heat
add garlic and fry for a further 2 minutes
add your mussels
add your tin of tomatoes
add your balsamic vinegar, soya sauce, sugar and salt to taste
stir well
throw in your time as whole sprigs
turn down heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes
remove thyme
put into a serving dish and garnish with black pepper and a sprig of thyme
serve with a green salad and fresh, crusty bread.
Your guests will be beyond impressed. Just don't tell them how easy it was!
that's ridiculously easy. where do you get mussels in the shell tho?
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