Emily Scott, chef patron at Emily Scott Food at Watergate Bay and author of Sea & Shore: Recipes and Stories from a Kitchen in Cornwall, shares her recipe for Porthilly mussels with leek, cider and clotted cream
Serves 6
- Live mussels (ideally from Porthilly) 1kg
- Unsalted butter 50g
- Shallot 1 medium, peeled and finely chopped
- Leek 1 medium, washed and finely sliced
- Garlic cloves 2, peeled and finely chopped
- Cider 300ml
- Cornish clotted cream 4 tbsp
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley 3 tbsp, chopped
- Cornish sea salt and ground black pepper
- Wash the mussels under cold running water and remove any wispy beards from the shells. Make sure all the mussels are alive – discard any with broken or cracked shells, and any open mussels that don’t close when tapped on a hard surface.
- Melt the butter in a very large pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot, leek and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the cider, bring to the boil, then add the mussels. Cover and cook for 5–7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until all the mussels have opened. Discard any that are still closed after cooking.
- Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and divide among 6 warmed deep bowls. Return the pan to the heat, bring the cooking liquid to the boil and bubble for 2–3 minutes to reduce.
- Stir in the cream and parsley, then season the sauce and pour over the mussels.
Find more Cornish recipes in Emily’s new cookbook Sea & Shore: Recipes and Stories from a Kitchen in Cornwall.
You will need
- Live mussels (ideally from Porthilly) 1kg
- Unsalted butter 50g
- Shallot 1 medium, peeled and finely chopped
- Leek 1 medium, washed and finely sliced
- Garlic cloves 2, peeled and finely chopped
- Cider 300ml
- Cornish clotted cream 4 tbsp
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley 3 tbsp, chopped
- Cornish sea salt and ground black pepper
Method
- Wash the mussels under cold running water and remove any wispy beards from the shells. Make sure all the mussels are alive – discard any with broken or cracked shells, and any open mussels that don’t close when tapped on a hard surface.
- Melt the butter in a very large pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot, leek and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the cider, bring to the boil, then add the mussels. Cover and cook for 5–7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until all the mussels have opened. Discard any that are still closed after cooking.
- Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and divide among 6 warmed deep bowls. Return the pan to the heat, bring the cooking liquid to the boil and bubble for 2–3 minutes to reduce.
- Stir in the cream and parsley, then season the sauce and pour over the mussels.
Find more Cornish recipes in Emily’s new cookbook Sea & Shore: Recipes and Stories from a Kitchen in Cornwall.
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