Preparation

Clean mussels under running water, scrubbing off any dirt or seaweed and removing beards.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic, shallot, leek, bay leaves and thyme. Cook for 6–7 minutes or until vegetables are translucent.
Add the mussels and the wine, cover and increase heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3–5 minutes or until the mussels have just opened.
Discard any unopened mussels. Transfer mussels to serving dishes and pour over the liquid. Garnish with the parsley.
Season with pepper, if you like, but never with salt – the mussels will be salty enough. Serve.

Ingredients

  • 4 kg mussels
  • 125 g butter
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 4 French shallots, sliced
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ bunch thyme, leaves picked
  • 250 ml (1 cup) white wine
  • chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
  • pepper, to season