Easy Date Night Dish

By David Hu

I have a standing date night with my wife every Tuesday. Sometimes we’ll eat out, sometimes we’ll catch a movie and sometimes we’ll cook at home. When it’s my turn, I always like to make something special – but because date night is mid-week, whatever I cook can’t take too long.

One of my favorite ingredients is mussels; they’re elegant, require very little prep and the best way to eat them is steamed, which doesn’t take a lot of effort. My favorite mussel dish is Moules Marinière. It’s a classic dish with only five ingredients so prep and cook won’t take more than 30 minutes.

This basic Moules Marinière recipe is also very versatile. Add fries to get Moules Frites (mussels and fries), or toss the mussels and mussel water with pasta to make a great one-dish meal.

It’s a simple yet sophisticated dish that’s perfect for a weeknight date.

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Moules Marinière
Makes 2 servings

2 pounds uncooked mussels
½ cup white wine
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon shallots (optional)
4 parsley sprigs tied with dental floss or kitchen string
Additional chopped parsley for garnish

1. Sort through the mussels, discarding those that have cracked shells. If a mussel shell is open, tap or run it under cold water. The shell should close slowly. If the mussel doesn’t close, discard it. While sorting, remove any beards still attached to the mussel. The beard is a hairy growth on the mussel that can be pulled off by hand or removed with a knife. Thoroughly wash mussels under running water.
2. Put mussels in a deep pot and add wine, garlic, shallots and parsley sprigs. Cover and heat over medium-high heat for 5 to 10 minutes until mussels have opened.
3. Remove parsley sprigs. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Sprinkle mussels with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Cooking tips:
You can easily turn this into a classic French/Belgian dish by serving it with french fries. To save time, use frozen fries and put them in the oven while preparing the mussels.

If you have any leftovers, make some pasta and toss with mussel liquid and leftover mussels.

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