Growing up in the MidWestern part of the country, I had never even heard of anyone eating mussels, or talk of any mussels recipe. Maybe, just maybe, I don’t even remember hearing of mussels. Hmmmm. As a small kid, tuna from a can or Fish Sticks was about as far as we ever got with seafood.
Then, one day, my Dad made shrimp – my first shellfish, and Wow! A whole new seafood, so of course shrimp became my favorite! What other shellfish were out there? Fast forward to my adult life, living in the land of relatively inexpensive shellfish, I’ve learned all about mussels, clams and even that fantastic geoduck (inexplicably pronounced gooey-duck). Anyway, when my daughter was maybe 4, we took her to a seafood restaurant here in the Pacific Northwest. She was positive she needed to have the mussels. What? Are you sure? And, BTW, when did you ever even hear about Mussels? “Yes! I’m sure!” “Well, O-O-O-Kay. And what do you know – that tiny person ate the entire pound, practically by herself.
We guessed mussels must have been on the Adventure Bites menu at school that week. That was when I resolved to learn how to make the lovely things. And I found that making them is so embarrassingly easy – who knew?
I often steam mussels in a bath of Trader Joe’s Thai Red Curry Sauce, which is a super-simple but awesome way to cook mussels if you’re short on time. (And, face it, who isn’t?) But for me, it was those crispy oven fries that brought me to this particular mussels recipe from the incomparable Martha Stewart. These were the crispiest oven fries I’ve ever made!
Turns out the secret is boiling the potatoes a bit first – who knew? And, the mussels that compliment those lovely fries are steamed in a positively luscious-but-still-simple wine sauce. A light sauce and oven-crisped fries make this a sort of new and healthy spin on fish-n-chips. I did make an aioli for the fries, but really, plain mayonnaise or ketchup work really well for, … well, none of the effort.
Crispy fries, delectable, tender steamed mussels in a slurpable sauce – I know you just want to take a bite! And you should! You won’t regret it! And let me know if there’s a recipe or dish you found “embarrassingly simple” to make! Enjoy!
Brothy Mussels with Oven Fries
Adapted from Martha Stewart, this recipe for steamed mussels and oven fries is easy, slurpable, and so so delicious!
Be sure to offer spoons to slurp the delicious sauce! Serve fries with prepared mayonnaise or ketchup.
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 60 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Seafood
Ingredients
For the Fries:
- 2 lb. potatoes (I used 4 medium-sized russets), halved and cut into 8-10 wedges each
- 6 T olive oil
- Kosher salt
For the Mussels:
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/4 c (1/2 stick, or 4 T) Unsalted Butter
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 1 qt. Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 c Dry White Wine – whatever type you like
- 3 lb. Fresh Mussels (de-bearded and scrubbed)
Instructions
Prepare the Fries
- Preheat oven to 475F. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to heat it up – this helps the fries crisp nicely.
- In a large pot of generously salted water, place the potato wedges. Place pot over high heat. When it boils, turn heat down and simmer potato wedges 6-8 minutes. They should be just barely cooked through.
- Drain potatoes and let stand about 10 minutes until they dry. Toss with 6 T olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
- Carefully remove the hot rimmed sheetpan from oven, place seasoned potatoes on the sheet, and roast for 25 minutes, turning once. They should be nicely browned and crisp. If desired, season with extra salt.
Cook the Mussels
- When the fries have about 10 minutes remaining in cooking time, using the same pot or a skillet, over Medium High heat, melt 2 T butter and remaining olive oil. Cook the garlic 1-2 minutes, just until fragrant.
- Add the wine and tomatoes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Simmer sauce about 3 minutes.
- Add the mussels and cover to cook for 3-5 minutes. All of the mussels should be opened at this point – just discard any which are still tightly closed.
- Transfer cooked mussels to serving bowls. Add the remaining 2 T butter to the sauce, stir in, and pour the sauce over the mussels. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve with fries.
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how have i not had mussels with fries before?! love the sound of this combo (and also just roasted potatoes in general!).
I agree with you, Heather – although a crusty bread it the usual accompaniment, there’s no problem at all – actually many benefits – of adding or subbing crispy potatoes!
Oooooh baby these look fanTAStic! Sadly, I hardly ever make seafood for dinner. Get this, even though my hubs is from Rhode Island (the ocean state), he doesn’t like seafood! It’s that some kind of oxymoron? 🙂
When I make this recipe, I’ll have to make two dinners, this for me, and a non seafood recipe for him 🙂
Oh, you poor thing! That’s practically tragic! I imagine sometimes you just need to eat out so you can get your seafood fix, eh? Fortunately this recipe is pretty quick. But still…maybe he can have some of your lovely leftovers from the night before? Good luck! And thanks for visiting!
What a great combo! Mussels + frites is one of Laura’s favorite meals, but she likes to try to save them for when we know we’re in fresh seafood country. I mean we’re not far from the coast here in upstate New York, but still. We’ve made mussels at home a couple of times, but it’s been ages. Thanks for the reminder…I want to try this recipe out now! (Also, I would probably fall over dead if Robbie asked to eat mussels. Haha!)
David, I thought it was strange, too, for a toddler to like shellfish of all things, but I always thought that was my Midwestern (salmon comes from a can) upbringing. But if Robbie doesn’t want them, that’s just more for you and Laura, right? There’s always that upside. Eating with toddlers is always an adventure, as you know! Thanks for visiting!
Oh! I definitely want a bite of this. Everything on that plate is totally slurpable, Laura 🙂
Thanks,Freda! Glad you are a fan of mussels the way I am! I could eat them all the time if my family would allow it! Thanks for visiting!
This looks seriously so delicious! I love nothing more than mussels in flavourful broth with crusty bread. i used to make a saganaki with a thick tomato sauce using green lipped mussels we would pull from the rivers in New Zealand and it is one of my fondest food memories. Thanks for reminding me 🙂 Now I am starving!
I love love love saganaki, Ruby! That sounds like a killer recipe! Yummmm and thanks for visiting!
I am not into seafood, but this looks terribly easy and delish! That wine and tomato sauce looks yummy! And the best part is those baked fries..so crispy!!
Thanks, Deepika – the fries were so good and the kind of crispy they needed to be – I’ve made oven fries before with mixed results. I’ll forever take the extra step of boiling them ahead of baking! And that sauce – you’re right – so positively slurp-able. Thanks for visiting!