Menu

Make the most out of emergencies with classic Moules Frites

moules frites picture with Leffe beer

Once my dinner plans went to emergency state as I found out that I didn't have fresh fish at home, I had to improvise... Luckily, when I went to my local supermarket I found out that they were selling fresh mussels and my food emergency just turned into an opportunity to cook moules frites again.

Ingredients (for 3 large portions):


Cooking mussels is very easy as long as you keep the dish simple and fresh. When buying mussels pay attention that the shells are closed and that they have been refrigerated properly. Remember to keep the ingredients simple. Adding too many or strong ingredients can take over the mussels flavour.

So, put the white wine in the fridge and let's start cooking!

  1. Put the Mussels in a large bowl, wash and clean the shells. If some shells remain open after this, it is better to discard them.
  2. Cut the onions and green pepper in small squares and smashed the garlic.
  3. Set a large bowl, as big as necessary to fit all the ingredients, in medium high heat and add the onions and green pepper. Stir frequently.
  4. Once the onions have turned yellow add the smashed garlic.
  5. After stirring the ingredients for a couple of minutes add the mussels and white wine to the pot. As soon as you see that the wine starts boiling reduce the heat to low and close the pot with a lid.
  6. After 4 minutes. Add a bit salt(remember mussels add some saltiness already), peeper and thyme and stir the mussels. Make sure to move the mussels from the bottom to the top.
  7. Time to start frying your chips.
  8. Add more salt and pepper and stir the ingredients once again.
  9. Chop fresh parsley and add it to the mussels.
  10. Serve the mussels adding some of the soup into a bowl and the chips in a different plate.
  11. Open a Belgian beer if your wine is over and enjoy.

The classic recipe includes crème fraîche and carrots but, as I said before I prefer to keep it simple, feel free to add them if you want.

Once you are satisfied with your Moules Frites, you can take the mussels from the shells and keep them in a container with the rest of the "white wine soup". With this you can cook rice the next day and voilà!