Recipe: deep-fried Zeeland mussels by Bart van Olphen
It’s time for the latest harvest of Zeeland mussels again – Zeeland rope-grown mussels, to be precise. And that always makes us very happy! These mussels, hanging from frayed ropes just below the water’s surface, get so much food because of their favorable location in the water that they are suitable for consumption earlier than traditional bottom-grown mussels. That’s why the rope-grown mussel season always starts a little earlier, at the end of May, than the bottom-grown mussel season. They are exactly the same mussel (for the experts: the mytilus edulis).
And what are we going to do with the mussels? Classic and delicious, stew them in white wine or beer? Or go wild and try mussels with champagne? Or add them to a delicious summery pasta? Always a good idea.
But with this recipe, you prepare mussels just a little differently. Not boiled, but deep-fried. And served with a delicious, fresh remoulade sauce. We got this lovely recipe from seafood chef Bart van Olphen, a friend of FavorFlav and co-owner of the sustainable fish brand Fish Tales, which this year (really!) became the very first brand to offer Zeeland mussels (available at, among others, Albert Heijn). Ideal finger food for the coming summer!
What you need
• 1 celery stalk, bottom and strings removed
• 100 g mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp finely chopped pickles
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• a few drops of lemon juice
• a few drops of Tabasco
• salt and pepper
• 100 g flour, sifted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 100 g panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or other breadcrumbs
• 300 g cooked mussel meat
• salt and pepper
• oil for frying
How to make panko mussels with remoulade sauce
1 Cook the mussels. See here how.
2. Make the sauce. Cut the celery into small cubes. Blanch them for 1–2 minutes in boiling water with a little salt. Remove the cubes, let them cool in ice water and drain well in a sieve. Mix the mayonnaise, celery cubes, pickles, shallot and parsley. Season the remoulade with lemon juice, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Set it aside.
3 Heat the oil in a (deep-frying) pan to 180 C.
4 Put the flour, egg and panko in separate bowls and place them next to one another. Pat the mussels completely dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel. Now coat the mussels first in flour, then in egg and finally in panko.
5 Deep-fry the mussels in the hot oil until beautifully light brown. Make sure there is enough oil in the pan to cover the mussels. Scoop them out of the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
6 Serve the mussels with the remoulade sauce.
From: The Zeeland Mussel Cookbook, published by Kosmos, author Bart van Olphen. Photography: David Loftus, € 18.50.
Also read:
Image: David Loftus
