Hi,

On Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:25:12 +0100, "Anders Tørneskog"
> wrote:

>Lobster á l'Americaine?
>a Quiche Lorraine?
>
>Hello, Ian, you there?

Yup, I'm here, but I've been entirely without inspiration! We're just
about to head for the UK - leaving tomorrow morning at the crack of
dawn, and I've not been around much, for all sorts of reasons. I'll
TRY to get back on line again during the month I'm away.

This is the best I can come up with.

With bone dry Riesling, I tend to look to shell fish, and as Andrew's
in New Zealand, where they have magic mussels, I wonder if a creamy
green lipped mussel dish wouldn't be perfect - but that would have to
be hot. If Andrew is keen on a cold dish, he might like to risk this
salad. If he's extremely careful with the quantities of citrus, it
could be perfect. Alternatively the classic Salad a la Boulonnaise of
mussels and cold new potatoes might do.

Mussel Salad With Citrus Fruit Façon Maïté

1 small onion; chopped
1 oz butter
3 flat parsley sprigs, leaves
1/2 liter dry white wine
2 kg mussels
----DRESSING----
1 medium orange; juice
1/2 lemon; juice
1 medium grapefruit; juice
120 ml mussel cooking liquor
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon peanut oil
----TO COMPOSE----
1 crisp lettuce; chiffonaded
1 orange; segments
1 grapefruit; segments

Gently cook chopped onion in a large saucepan with the butter until
nicely golden, but not browned. Add the parsley leaves and the white
wine. Bring to the boil and boil 3 minutes. Put in the cleaned mussels
and cook till open - about 5 minutes or so.

Remove from liquid with slotted spoon, and allow to cool a little
before removing from the shells which are discarded.

Meanwhile, squeeze orange, lemon and grapefruit in a small saucepan,
add the measured mussel cooking liquor bring to the boil and reduce
till quite syrupy. Whisk in the oils and correct seasoning - cool.
When cold, fold into mussels. Set aside until ready to use.

Wash and dry lettuce - use a nice crisp one, like an Iceberg or a
Webbs Wonderful. Cut into a chiffonade (1/4" strips). In a large flat
serving dish, make a bed of the lettuce chiffonade. Segment the citrus
fruits and arrange them around the outside of the dish. Pile the
dressed mussels in the middle. Serve.

Yield: 4 servings

==========
Salade a La Boulonnaise

5 lb mussels
2 lb waxy potatoes
5 tablespoon white wine
6 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 large sprig thyme
6 large sprigs parsley
1 black pepper
8 tablespoon good vinaigrette *
1 chopped parsley

Put wine, shallots, thyme, parsley sprigs and pepper in a large pan.
Bring to boil and boil 1 minute. Add well scrubbed mussels to pan and
cook over high heat, shaking as usual for 5 mins or so until the
mussels are cooked and their shells have swung open. Strain
immediately and remove mussels from their shells, discarding the
shells - cool.

Wash, then boil the potatoes in their skins. When cooked, but as hot
as possible, peel and slice them. Reboil the mussel cooking liquor and
pour it over the potatoes. Leave to cool. When potatoes are cold,
drain off the cooking liquor which you may keep for use separately,
mix them with mussels and chill thoroughly. A couple of hours before
serving, pour the vinaigrette over the mussel/potato mixture and chill
again. Sprinkle generously with coarsely chopped parsley just before
serving.

Yield: 8 servings


*NB, make this with dry white wine and lemon, not vinegar.






--
All the best
Fatty from Forges