Recipe: Mussels in Saffron Cream

Name: Mussels in Saffron Cream
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) cleaned bouchot mussels; 1.7 cups (400 ml) dry white wine; 1.25 cups (300 ml) heavy cream (30%); 0.4 cup (100 ml) cream for infusing the saffron; 10 saffron pistils (stigmas); 3 shallots, finely chopped; A handful of flat parsley, roughly chopped; Salt (sparingly) and freshly ground pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.8/5 (12 reviews) · 🍳 8 made it

Prep 10 min

Cook 15 min

Total 25 min

Servings 6 serv.

Mouclade is mussels cooked in saffron cream. The meat becomes tender and melting, the sauce turns golden and takes on a wonderful spiced flavour. Small, meaty Bouchot mussels from Aunis are perfect for this dish.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

5.5 lb (2.5 kg) cleaned bouchot mussels
1.7 cups (400 ml) dry white wine
1.25 cups (300 ml) heavy cream (30%)
0.4 cup (100 ml) cream for infusing the saffron
10 saffron pistils (stigmas)
3 shallots, finely chopped
A handful of flat parsley, roughly chopped
Salt (sparingly) and freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step directions

1 In a fairly tall saucepan, add your finely chopped shallots, dry white wine, parsley, salt, pepper and cream. Let cook for 5 minutes then add the mussels.

2 Once all the mussels have opened, remove your pot from the heat.

3 Using a skimmer, remove the mussels and set them aside on a separate plate. Pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and reduce it by two-thirds, then add the saffron cream (cream and saffron).

4 In a nice round dish, arrange your mussels in a fan shape, keeping only the shell with the mussel in it, then pour the hot saffron cream over your opened mussels. It's a lovely convivial dish, original, easy to make and truly delicious. The Aunis region is located near the city of La Rochelle. This place produces exceptional bouchot mussels, both for their flavour and the density of meat in such small shells. You can also replace the saffron pistils with a teaspoon of good curry or turmeric. These spices pair beautifully with mussels. You can actually make many different recipes based on this one, replacing the saffron with garlic and mustard at the end of cooking, curry, paprika, etc.

A chef's advice

With this cream and saffron sauce, choose a Muscadet from the Loire or a Burgundy white wine like Rully. The acidity of Muscadet cuts through the richness of the cream, and saffron calls for a dry white wine without oak. For the technique, the trick is to remove the mussels as soon as they open, then reduce the liquid by two-thirds before pouring in the saffron cream. Otherwise your sauce will splash and break. For accompaniments, forget complicated sides: a slice of toasted bread or homemade fries, that's all you need. The mouclade should remain the star of the plate.