a delicious, naturally grain free and gluten free dish. mussles steamed in a garlicky buttery lemony sauce.
Mussels are definitely not an everyday occurrence. I used to love getting them at restaurants, I’d get it with a side of french fries or else a bunch of soft and warm pieces of baguette, and I’d devour the mussels and use the sauce remaining to dip my fries/baguette. While I can’t exactly go out to a restaurant to do that anymore, I saw mussels at the grocery store the other day and I couldn’t think of anything better. I’ve probably made mussels once or twice in my life. These ones turned out so freaking good, I will definitely be making them again (sooo maybe soon-to-be everyday occurrence?). The only annoying part is cleaning them. However you should be giving them a good scrub and de-beard them (yeah that’s a thing, Google it) before you steam them.
These mussels are steamed in a butter-y, garlicky, lemon-y sauce– like, need I say more? Oh, there are also mushrooms– one whole pack, to consume alongside the mussels. The textures between the mussels and the mushrooms are actually not so dissimilar, they make for a good pairing.
The sauce not only contains oil, butter, garlic and lemon juice, it’s also got some coconut milk to help complete the butter-y flavour and creaminess of the sauce. I used the fattiest part of the coconut milk, the solid chunk you get when you remove the can of coconut milk from the fridge, however I imagine the liquid would work just as well!
As far as dipping options go: while you may not be able to do fries (but if you can, please do it), I think you could whip up a batch of almond flour buns that would be great for dipping, or else you could make some butternut squash fries. Even some crispy plantain could work as a delicious dipper for all the extra sauce you’ll have. Don’t let the sauce go to waste!!
garlic butter mussels: ingredients
- 2 lbs – 3 lbs of fresh mussels
- 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp of ghee butter
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced or diced small
- 8 oz of Mini Bella mushrooms
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3/4 cup of coconut milk
- 1 + 1/2 cup of water
garlic butter mussels: how to
- in a large saucepan over medium heat, place 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. once hot, place all your mushrooms and half the garlic in the pot.
- sautee the mushrooms, and add in the 2 tbsp of ghee butter, with salt and pepper to taste. sautee for 15 minutes.
- add in the coconut milk, add in remaining garlic, and the juice of one lemon. mix, and allow to simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
- while it’s simmering, clean your mussels – soak them in cold water, twenty minutes prior to cooking so that they can release any sand. clean each mussel and remove the beard; discard any that are already open or broken/chipped.
- add in the water and place all the mussels in the pot, put the lid on and steam on medium heat for 6 minutes. once the mussels have opened it should be finished, discard any mussels that have not opened.
- serve right away and enjoy!