Mussels

Yesterday, I picked up mussels at Carrefour for 4 EUR ($5.20) for 1.4 kg. Of course there were some mussels in there that had been crushed in transit and just to play safe I didn't put them in the pot, so in the end I'd say I was left with about 1 kg of fresh, cleaned mussels.

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The mussels themselves are raised in Spain but processed ("cleaned and purified," according to the package) in France. It's very similar to what producers in Japan do with clams from China: they bring them over from China, let them chill out in Japanese waters for a spell, and then repackage them as "clams processed in Japan (origin: China)." (Food safety's a topic for another entry maybe. I mean, in America, do we publish the country of origin on the foods that we find at the supermarket? Maybe sometimes. But in Japan and in France here you know exactly where the food comes from. By law they are obliged to specify the origin of the foods.)

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So how did I prepare them? Well, a variation on moules mariniere, without the cream.

1. Wash and clean mussels.

2. Fry chopped onions and garlic in a frypan, add about 100-150 ml of wine for 500g of mussels. Heat until wine is boiling.

3. Add mussels in pan, and cover. Steam for about five minutes (don't overcook; rubbery mussels can be unpleasant).

4. Serve and top with grated parsley, if you have. I suppose you could also mix a little cream into the "mussel soup" in the frypan.