Jumping fish

Mussels with Bearnaise sauce

  • 4 persons
  • cooking time: 30 minuten
  • difficulty

Ingredients

  • 1-ounce butter
  • 1 white onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 70 1/2 -ounce mussels, ready to eat
  • coarse sea salt
  • FOR THE BEARNAISE SAUCE:
  • 4 black peppercorns
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 4 3/4 -ounce clarified butter
  • salt and pepper

How to prepare

Delicious as an appetizer but also perfect for drinks: these mussels with bearnaise sauce and tarragon.

Preparation

  • 1 For the sauce, cook the peppercorns, shallot and 1 tablespoon of tarragon in vinegar in a small saucepan. Reduce this to one third of the original amount, sieve this and remove from the heat.
  • 2 Heat the butter in a mussel pan on low to medium heat. Fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes without browning. Deglaze with the white wine and add the mussels. Put the lid on the pan. Cook the mussels for 5-7 minutes. Stir every now and then. When the mussels are open take them out of the pan. Check that all the shells are open, remove any empty and closed shells.
  • 3 Remove the shell halves that do not contain meat from the mussels and put them away. Cover a large plate or board with coarse sea salt. Press the mussel halves a little into the salt.
  • 4 Briefly heat the pan with the sieved tarragon vinegar mixture and remove from the fire. Add three egg yolks. Mix well with a whisk and put the pan back on low heat. Beat for 3 minutes and then gradually add the clarified butter. Make sure the sauce does not boil. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in the sauce.
  • 5 Spoon the sauce over the mussel halves and sprinkle with some extra tarragon. Serve on coarse sea salt.