Recipe: Little Mussel Cakes

In a large saucepan, melt 30 gr of butter and then add the finely chopped onion, the thyme and leave to sweat, covered, for 5 min. Add the white wine. Bring to a boil and season with a little salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.

Add the mussels, cover and cook for 8 min.

Be careful to only use open mussels (throw away those that are closed). Set them aside. Filter the cooking juices and also set aside.

Turn on the oven at a temperature of 350°F (180°C or th6).

Put the eggs in a mixing bowl, add 2,5 dl of cream, half of the cooking juices (the remainder will be used for the sauce). Do not salt but add some pepper. Mix everything together in a blender for 15 seconds and sieve.

Align 8 small buttered molds (such as those used in making “crème caramel”). Pour the egg mixture into these molds and place them in a bain-marie. Cook in the oven for 25 min at a temperature of 350°F (180°C).

If you see that these little cakes are becoming brown, cover them with some aluminium foil.

During this time, DRY the chicories, cut them in half and remove the core. Slice them thinly, lengthwise.

Melt 30 gr of butter in a saucepan, sweat your chicories and season with salt and pepper. Add a pinch of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and leave to cook gently for 10 min.

Melt 20 gr of butter in a small frying pan. Sweat the shallots and add the remaining cream, the beer and the remaining mussel cooking juices. Reduce this mixture and add curry at the last minute. Set aside and keep hot.

Remove the little cakes from the oven and wait 5 min to unmold.

Composition: using elegant plates (preferably in a dark coulour), place each little cake in the center. Add a small heap of chicory on each side and decorate with a surrounding dash of sauce. Serve the remaining sauce in a separate sauceboat.

Curry is an addition to the original recipe and I find that it tends to bring out the taste of the mussels.