This weekend was lovely in Boston and my hubby and I took full advantage of the unusually warm weather by taking a long walk around our neighborhood. We live within a 5 minute stroll of many shops and restaurants and one of our favorites is a small family-owned meat market called McKinnon’s. They have every cut of meat imaginable and a nice selection of fresh seafood. We always end up with some sort of impulse purchase when we visit, and this weekend was no exception – I picked up a package of mussels! I had never prepared mussels before, so I was a little intimidated, but decided to go for it anyway. There’s nothing worse than ruining an expensive ingredient, but luckily everything went smoothly after I did a little research on the internet and found this site explaining how to properly clean and debeard them.
Coming up with an idea for the sauce was much easier because I knew I wanted to use coconut milk and curry paste. One of our favorite restaurants in Chicago, Opera, used to serve mussels in an amazing coconut curry sauce and we’ve missed this tasty appetizer ever since we moved to Boston! It was nice to enjoy one of our favorite dishes for a fraction of what it would have cost in a restaurant. Mussels will definitely be on our list the next time we go to McKinnon’s!
Coconut Curry Mussels
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 stalk lemongrass
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stockpot and sauté red peppers and greens onions for 5 to 7 minutes or until soft. Add coconut milk, lime juice, red curry paste, lemongrass, ginger, and salt to the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Add mussels and boil until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open. Place the mussels in two serving bowls and continue to simmer the sauce for 5 to 10 minutes or until it reduces and thickens a bit. Remove lemongrass and pour sauce over mussels. Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition: 287 calories, 21.3g fat, 3.0g fiber, 12.7g protein per serving (assuming you finish all the sauce!)
Cost: $3.00 per serving
Cake, Batter, and Bowl features my original recipes for quick, healthy, and inexpensive weeknight meals and indulgent weekend treats. Enjoy!
We love mussels, but haven’t ventured to try them at home. Good for you for being brave, and I’m glad it turned out so well!
The sauce on these sounds amazing.. I have never made mussels at home, doesnt sound so hard, you make it seem simple.:)
I love coconut curry sauce!!! I like using light coconut milk too, but lately our grocery store has only stocked regular. Guess I need to start looking elsewhere! I really should make these for my husband. He loves mussels but rarely gets them. I’ve always been intimidated by them too. I actually get intimidated by a lot of foods :-/ I’ve never been to Opera! I tried to go to the site but my internet is being slow. We have just a little over a year left in Chicago so I want to live it up!
Oh, coconut curry mussels sound sooo good! Excellent!
Looks delicious! The coconut curry sounds wonderful.
MMMMM….Your mussels look so lovely! Great picture too!
My husband adores mussles & he is Belgian, So,…
It’s great to beable to recreate your favorites at home , it sounds wonderful!!
I’ve never eaten a mussel before! But the flavors in this are so unique. How funny that you are talking about McKinnon’s. Jessie from The Hungry Mouse was just talking about this shop on her blog. Here is the link if you would like to check it out. http://www.thehungrymouse.com/home/2009/04/29/rustic-veal-flank-with-whiskey-cream-broth/
Coconut curry mussels sound amazing!
I am going to make this – it looks FANTASTIC and I know my entire family would love it.
Looks great, I was just thinking that I hadn’t done shellfish in awhile! I love coconut milk.
to tell you the truth, I’m not much of a mussel person because I’m too lazy to suck and deal with the shells! haha! but the coconut curry sounds really delicious and I imagine this would also go well with other seafood like shrimp!
This sounds great! I love mussels with coconut milk, and the ginger and lemongrass must be delicious in it.
Nice recipe, a refreshing change from the same old same old.
I am SO impressed – I’ve never fixed mussels before!! You created such a gorgeous dish!!
Starting this blog has motivated me to get out of my comfort zone and try new ingredients – I’m really enjoying the process
Meghan – Let me know how you like Opera if you end up going! They have a great deal on Tuesday and Sunday nights, you get any appetizer, entree, and dessert off their normal menu for $30! Also, our TJs always has light coconut milk!
Reeni – Thanks for sharing the link to Jessie’s blog, I will definitely check it out!
oh my gosh I had these about 3 years ago at some curry restaurant and I was in love with them.
thank you for making these as I had this in the back of my mind to make again. we get fresh mussels all over the place here on cape cod.
wonderful! thank you!
I’ve been pretty intimidated by mussels as well – I love them out but living in a Gulf Coast state we don’t usually get them as fresh (or tasty) as you East Coast folks do…these sound delish!
Both my husband and I love mussels. We will have to give this recipe a try – thanks for sharing!
I wish I had a “McKinnon’s” nearby! These mussels look fabulous. I love coconut curry flavoring. How totally delicious! Sounds like a wonderful weekend stroll.
OMG, this looks to die for. I love mussels and curry. Thanks so much for dropping by the last few times. I appreciate it!!!!