Mussels in a Saffron Cream Sauce

Oh my yummy! We wanted to have mussels tonight so I used this recipe from In the Kitchen with Stefano Faita. Tonight's supper was FABULOUS!

The Recipe:

4 1/2 pounds mussels

2 tbsp. chopped parsley

1 tbsp. chopped rosemary

1 tbsp. dried oregano

4 cups white wine

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

2 shallots, chopped

2 cups whipping cream (35%)

1 tsp. saffron threads

2 egg yolks

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Loaf of crusty bread, for serving

1. Scrub mussels if needed, and remove any beards. Discard any mussels with cracked shells and that do not close when tapped.

2. Add the mussels, herbs and wine to a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil. 

3. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer. Cook until mussels begin to open.

4. Remove the mussels from the pot and keep warm. Strain the cooking juices and reserve for the sauce.

5. In a large skillet, saute whole garlic cloves and chopped shallots in olive oil over medium heat until the shallots begin to soften.

6. Remove the whole garlic cloves and discard. Add the cream, saffron and reserved cooking juices from the mussels. 

7. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let sauce simmer until reduced slightly, about 10 minutes.

8. Whisk egg yolks. Temper the egg yolks by slowly whisking in 1/2 cup of the hot sauce. 

9. Stir the tempered egg yolks slowly into the sauce over low heat. Continue to stir and gently cook sauce until lightly thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

10. Remove from heat. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over mussels and serve with lots of crusty bread.

My Experience:

So fair warning: saffron is really expensive (it is actually the most expensive spice in the world... each flower that it is cultivated from only has 3 stigmas (threads), which are picked and dried by hand. It takes tens of thousands of individual strands to produce one ounce of saffron. That is your spice lesson of the day!). I shopped around a little and found that Bulk Barn had the cheapest: 1g for $8.99. For comparison reasons, Loblaws had 0.5g for more than $12. That is more money for half the amount! So crazy. And if you are a student or senior citizen, remember that Bulk Barn has 10% off on Wednesdays!

Besides the expensiveness of the saffron, at least the mussels only cost me $5 and this meal would feed 4 people. And to be honest, maybe the sauce would still taste good without the saffron - but I'm not sure. Speaking of mussels, if you just go to the fresh fish section of your grocery store, they probably have pre-packaged mussels on ice. You just need the one bag. You also would want to buy the mussels the day you are cooking this recipe. I'm pretty sure you can keep the mussels in your fridge for a day or two with a damp cloth on top of it (ask your fish expert to be sure though and exactly how to store it!). But to be safe, I would suggest same day.

For the wine, it depends on your budget. The wine I bought was Cesari Chardonnay Delle Venezie at the LCBO and it was for the LOW LOW price of $7.50 for 750ml (I had a bit left over from a previous recipe to top me off). Remember, you need 1L of white wine. If you don't know what kind to buy, just ask someone at the wine store for a suggestion based on your price range and mention that it is for cooking (you don't want anything fruity!!). And you can always serve the meal with a glass of the same wine! Too bad I don't drink wine.

Other than that, this is a really easy and tasty recipe. I wouldn't have it every time I have mussels, but every now and then (or once in a blue moon as they say...) would be good. I hope you try it!