When my boyfriend came to visit last weekend, I wanted to eat something special to celebrate my having finally found a job. (Hooray!) To me, a celebration with shellfish beats just about any other kind of celebration I know. I immediately thought of mussels, which I adore, and consoled myself that I could handle the price because I have a job now, remember? Anyway, I was shocked, shocked, shocked by the price of the mussels because $5 bought as many as Colin and I could eat. Sure, they weren’t the greatest mussels in the world, but they’re still mussels. Yum. I didn’t get to take any pictures when I made this dish for Colin and I because we were too darn hungry to mess around with blogging minutiae, so I repeated this meal for myself last night. 

This recipe makes for elegant dinner fare, yet it’s really straightforward. You throw almost all of the ingredients in the pot at the same time, and while I suppose you could make an accompanying side dish (mussels are typically served with crispy fries in France), I personally love the rusticity of a one-pot meal. A loaf of crusty French bread on the side would be useful for sopping of the beery, creamy, herbal sauce that’s left at the end, but a spoon will do just as well.

Mussels are really easy to cook, and now that you know they can be cheap, too, please don’t shy away from this recipe because of them. Unlike, say, oysters, there’s no prying open or other hard labor to be done. You basically just have to throw them in the pot and let them open on their own. Harder to mess up than the mussels are the croutons, which, if over-browned, can overpower the flavor of the mussels and really make for a bitter dish. I learned this the hard way the second time I prepared this dish. In my opinion, a slightly soft crouton (which is going to get soft as soon as it hits the sauce anyway) is better than a bitter, burnt one. Be careful. 

As for beer selection, you need a Belgian white beer. My favorite, which is fairly easy to find, is Hoegaarden, but Blue Moon would work as well.

My recipe serves 2. Multiply to your heart’s desire.

Mussels Steamed in Beer with Cream, Tomatoes and Parmesan Croutons

• 2 cups white country-style bread, such as a baguette, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence, or fresh herbs to your liking
• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche (I actually used Greek yogurt because it’s what I had on hand, and I think it worked fine. You could probably also substitute heavy cream.)
• 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves
• 1-1/2 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded (Depending on where you buy your mussels, this will likely already be done.)
• 3 whole, peeled canned tomatoes
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions
• 1/2 of a 12-ounce bottle Belgian white beer
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a baking pan with raised edges, toss the bread cubes with the olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and salt. Place in preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden at edges. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

2. Whisk the crème fraîche (or substitute) and mustard in a small bowl and set aside. Mince garlic.

3. Melt butter over high heat in a medium-large pot with a lid and add garlic and dried herbs, stirring constantly until fragrant. Add mussels, scallions and tomatoes, using your hands to squeeze the tomatoes and break them into smaller pieces as you drop them into the pot. Pour the beer over top, add crème fraiche micture, cover tightly and cool about 3 minutes or until steam appears. 

4.  If you chose to use fresh herbs also/instead, add them now. Either way, remove lid and stir once or twice, not more, with a wooden spoon. Recover and cook 4-5 minutes more or until mussels open.

5. Divide mussels evenly between two bowls using a slotted spoon. Season mussel juices with salt and pepper and then divide, pouring over both servings. Top with Parmesan croutons and serve.