AuthorJessCategoryMain Ingredient, Meal, SeafoodMussel escabeche on bruschetta has become my go-to quick supper and will definitely feature heavily Chez Ben’s around Christmas time. It keeps in a jar for at least a week and if you feel confident enough to pasteurise it, several weeks. Why we get so paranoid about mussels is a mystery. If you were to batch cook and pasteurise in a water bath, they’d be cooked three times.
In its simplest form it’s just picked cooked mussels, pickled in a mix of white wine and vinegar but once you have the basic method sorted out you can tailor the flavourings to suit you and whatever else you might be eating. A few shavings of orange or lemon zest work well, as do garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, paprika etc – but probably not all at the same time. It’s not the norm in Spain (particularly Madrid) where mussel escabeche is virtually a national pastime (often served with potato crisps) but I like to sauté a little julienned onion and carrot as well.
Slowly sauté the onion, carrot, rosemary and bay leaves in a little olive oil until soft. Add garlic and chilli and cook for another ten minutes.
Meanwhile, steam the mussels until they open. Alternatively, if you’re going to eat within 24 hours, cook in the white wine and use the combined juices as part of the marinade. It won’t have the acidity to preserve for weeks but you’ll be getting that extra flavour.
Once cooked and cool enough to handle, pick the mussels and add to the pan with the veg. Stir in the paprika and gently cook for another five minutes.
Spoon into sterilised jars and add the combined wine and vinegar. Lid and refrigerate. If you want to keep for longer than 7-10 days, place the jars in a water bath heated to 95degC. You need to achieve a core temperature of at least 72deg for five minutes or so. Depending on how hot the mussels and wine/vinegar was when you jarred up, this should take about 20mins but a proper probe thermometer is the only way to be sure.