serves
2-3
prep
25 minutes
cook
35 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
2-3
people
preparation
25
minutes
cooking
35
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh mussels
- 4 tbsp (80 ml) olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup uncooked brown rice, rinsed in cold water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve
- lemon wedges
- bread
Instructions
- Soak mussels in a bowl of cold water with salt for an hour to expel any sand or grit. Drain, wash, and debeard mussels.
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic to saucepan and sauté just until fragrant. Add mussels, white wine, and water to saucepan. Cover saucepan and simmer until shells have opened, roughly 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Toss away any shells that have not opened.
- Remove flesh from shells and add to a small bowl. Reserve shells in a separate bowl. Pour the remaining liquid from cooking the mussels through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a cheesecloth into a bowl. Set aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, ground cinnamon, allspice and sauté until soft and translucent. Add rice and stir for a minute.
- Add 1 cup of the strained liquid from cooking the mussels. Cover skillet or saucepan and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is almost al dente. Add lemon juice, pine nuts, parsley, and meat of the mussels to rice and cook just until mussels are heated through again. Season with salt and pepper.
- Fill mussel shells with rice mixture, making sure to include mussel-flesh in each shell.
- Serve with lemon wedges and bread.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.