white wine and tarragon steamed mussels
adapted from jon shook and vinny dotolo’s two dudes, one pan
serves 4
olive oil, salt, pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like spicy)
3 lb mussels, cleaned (see note below)
2 cups heavy cream
1 loaf bread
1 bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped
2 1/2 tbsp roughly chopped tarragon
NOTE: Make sure your mussels are ALIVE when you get home. They should be closed - if they’re open (and stay open when you tap them), they’re dead. Likewise, if they are closed after being cooked, they are dead. UNSALVAGEABLE! To clean mussels, dump in a big bowl of water with a little flour or corn starch mixed in. Rinse, then debeard - pull off the hairy threads that poke out around the tip.
Heat oil in dutch oven over medium high heat. Add shallots and garlic, lightly season (think of mussels as pre-seasoned), and cook until they begin to brown (2 min). Make sure you don’t burn the garlic! Pour in wine, scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pot, and stir in red pepper flakes.
Add mussels to pot, cover, and steam until just beginning to open (3 min). Pour in cream, cover, and cook until all mussels are open (3-5 min). Remove from heat, sprinkle with chives and tarragon and serve with bread.
