Mussels éclade
Pascal Aussignac shares an enchanting mussels eclade recipe. Explaining the inspiration behind the dish, he says: "Just near La Rochelle, near Ile de Re (South West France), is the home of a classic recipe called Escalade (Eclade). This is traditionally cooked on the beach or in the forest. A large quantity of mussels are placed into a huge dish and then covered with dry pine needles, which are then set on fire. The mussels cook for a couple of minutes from the heat of the pine fire." This recipe allows you to cook it at home and uses fresh pine needles to extract a more intense flavour.
Ingredients
Mussels
- 1000g of mussels , cleaned
- 250g of pine needles, fresh, washed
- 1 garlic clove , large, thinly sliced (optional)
- 16 asparagus spears
- 50g of olive oil, or butter
- salt
Confit shallots
- 10 small shallots , peeled
- 150g of butter
- 200g of pine needles, fresh, washed
- water
- salt
- pepper
Method
1
Place the peeled shallots in a saucepan with the butter, pine needles and seasoning. Add enough water to just cover the contents of the pan and bring to the boil
- 10 small shallots , peeled
- 150g of butter
- 200g of pine needles, fresh, washed
- water
- salt
- pepper
2
Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover with a cartouche and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender. Allow to cool in the liquid and set aside until required
3
Trim the woody stems off the asparagus and then cut at an angle into thirds
4
Place a wok on a very high heat and once hot, add the pine needles followed by the mussels, garlic, asparagus, olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Cover with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes until the mussels begin to open
- 50g of olive oil, or butter
- 1 garlic clove , large, thinly sliced (optional)
- 250g of pine needles, fresh, washed
- 1000g of mussels , cleaned
- salt
5
Remove from the heat and place into serving bowls or pots. Slice the shallots into thick pieces, add to the mussels and serve immediately
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Mussels éclade
