Hey lovelies!
Today, I'll be sharing this recipe which is very delicious and addicting. It's quick and easy to do even for students staying in dorms (as long as you have an oven toaster/microwave) and can be served as an appetizer or a snack.
First, let's get nerdy (may be skipped):
When it comes to choosing fresh, live mussels, take note that when not in water, it will shut tightly when disturbed. Check for heavy and closed mussels for they may contain only mud or sand and should be discarded (test it by slightly opening the shell halves). Open, unresponsive mussels are dead, and must also be discarded. A thorough rinse in water and removal of "the beard" is suggested. Mussel shells usually open when cooked, revealing the cooked soft parts. Depending on the country you're from, there are several ways to cook mussels. It can be smoked, boiled, steamed, roasted or fried in butter or vegetable oil. I prefer it as a soup or baked.
Mussels are low in fat and is rich in Protein, Selenium, Zinc, Vitamin B12 and Folate. I read somewhere that the mussel's meat color differs according to its sex; orange for females and cream in color for males. For this recipe, I used the Asian green mussel which is very common in my country.
Ingredients:
2 lbs of mussels
3 tbsp butter
6 cloves garlic (minced)
grated quickmelt cheese
grated mozzarella
1 tbsp olive oil
Procedure (without oven):
1. Boil the mussels in a pot of water around 5-10 minutes on low to medium heat just enough for the shells to open.
2. When shells open, drain and remove the top shell and discard. Put aside the shell with the meat on a plate or tray arranged in a single layer.
3. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over low heat. Melt the butter and add the garlic before the butter burns.
4. Saute the garlic in butter then set aside before garlic turns brown.
5. Place some melted butter with garlic sauce on the mussels using a teaspoon or brush.
6. Top it with grated mozzarella and quickmelt cheese (ratio according to preference).
7. Pop into the oven toaster or microwave for about a minute or until the cheese melts.
8. Open the toaster, wait for it to cool down then serve.
Procedure (with oven):
1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over low heat. Melt the butter then add the garlic before the butter burns.
2. Saute the garlic in butter then set aside before garlic turns brown.
3. Preheat oven to 250-300F.
4. Place some melted butter with garlic sauce on the mussels using a teaspoon or brush.
5. Top it with grated mozzarella and quickmelt cheese (ratio according to preference).
6. Bake for 15 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and wait for it to cool down before serving.
*optional: Garnish with chopped onion leaves before serving.
This is my first time to post something like this and hopefully it won't be the last.😋 Hope you learned something from this post. Do you have other ways to cook mussels? Have you tried this recipe? I would love to find out.
Enjoy your Baked Mussels!
