"Muscled" Tomato Sauce

Time for some good homey food! There's not much that beats a steaming hot bowl of mussels in tomato sauce served with spaghetti on a cold day. It's cheap, it's healthy and it tastes great. It is also a great way to introduce people to the fine taste of mussels.

You'll need the following ingredients:

(4 persons)
1 net of Blue-shell Mussels (approx. 1 kg)
3 tins of chopped Tomato
2 Onions
2 cloves of Garlic
1 small handful of fresh Basil
2 tbs of White Wine Vinegar or a healthy glug of White Wine
2 tsp Sugar
1 dl Cream
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Fry the chopped onions in a wide pot at medium heat until translucent. Then add the chopped garlic and continue frying for 1 minute. Add the tinned tomatoes, the wihte wine/vinegar and the sugar. Let it all simmer at low heat for 30 minutes.
At this point I personally blitz it to make a creamy consistensy, but it's all up to taste. Add the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.
You'll need to clean and check the mussels. Discard any mussels that are shattered or won't start closing when you tap them against a hard surface. Pull of the beard of the mussel, located on the flat-sided opening. Wash vigorously in cold water a few times.
Turn the heat up to medium high and add the mussels and the chopped basil. Put a lid on the pot and let it cook for 3-4 minutes or until the mussels have opened. Remember to give the pot a good shake once in a while to let the mussels cook evenly. Serve with plenty of spaghetti.

Suggested drinks: Dry white wine or IPA/Pilsner

The world is my Oyster

Oysters! Some hate them, some love them. I'm the latter part, unfortunately my girlfriend is too. The great thing is that they're as healthy as an ox. They're high in protein and vitamin A, B, C and D and a great rumour has it that they're a natural aphrodisiac.

I'll prepare the oysters two ways. Au natural with a squeeze of lemon and oyster gratineé.

For the oyster gratineé you'll need:

6-8 Oysters
1dl Creme Fraiche (38% of course)
30-40g of Cheese (I used Gruyere since it's great for melting and tastes divine)
A pinch of Pepper
A squeeze of Lemon

Open the oysters with an oyster-knife. Remember to use a small towel as handguard, there's nothing worse than bloody oysters. Line them on a oven-proof plateau covered in salt, so the oysters won't tip over. Put a small tsp of creme fraiche in each oyster and top of with a bit of cheese, a twist of pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Place in a preheated oven as high as it goes. Wait for the cheese to brown lightly.

Oyster au natural doesn't require much. Simply open the oysters and serve on a plate covered in salt or crunched ice with half a lemon. 

We decided to enjoy a nice '09 Riesling, not conventional, but it worked fine.

Suggested drinks: Dry white wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis etc) or dry sparkling wines (Champagne, Cava etc).

Panfried Fluke and boiled new Potatoes

Today I went fishing, but the fish wouldn't bite. So I passed by the local fishmonger on the way home and picked up a pair of flukes for the girlfriend and me.
I love fish and one of the best treats I know is definitely fresh fluke and new potatoes. They scream spring on a plate, especially with a light dusting of parsley.

For a lovely lunch you'll need:

(2 Persons)
 2 small-medium Flukes
400g of new Potatoes
150g of butter
3dl Rye Flour
2tbs chopped Parsley
Salt and Pepper
½ Lemon

Boil the potatoes until just tender and peel. Melt 100g of butter in a pan.
Skin the flukes or get your fishmonger to do it. Cover the flukes in rye flour and shake of the excess. Melt 50g of butter in a heavy-duty pan at medium heat and fry the flukes until light golden on both sides.
Throw the boiled potatoes with the 100g of melted butter and the parsley. Garnish the dish with a quarter of lemon at each plate.

Suggested drinks: IPA or dry but fruity white wines (Riesling/Chardonnay etc)