Tiger mussels

Ingredients

• 1 large bag of mussels
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• 50 grms flour plus extra for coating the mussels
• 200 ml milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 handful breadcrumbs
• Olive oil for frying

Instructions

1. Clean the mussels properly by removing the beards and scrubbing under running water. Discard any that don’t close properly or that are damaged.
2. soften the onions and garlic in a little olive oil and add the wine and milk. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Add the mussels and cover with a lid until cooked. Again discard any mussels that don’t open at this point.
3. Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and allow to cool.
4. Melt a little butter in a pan and add the flour to make a roux. Stir until thick then add the cooking liquor from the mussels a little at a time. Keep stirring and cook to a thick sauce.
5. Remove one shell from the mussels so that each one is sitting in it’s own shell. Drizzle with a little of the sauce. Allow the sauce to cool and thicken so that you can turn the mussels over without them dropping out. Place mussel side down in the flour then into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Fry in shallow preheated olive oil until the breadcrumbs are golden. Serve hot.