Mussel Chowder
Serves 4
Ingredients
100 grams butter
¼ cup oil (any sort but rice bran is the best)
2 kgs fresh mussels
½ cup standard flour
1 tspn curry powder
3 cloves garlic
1 leek
1 onion
1 carrot
2 waxy potatoes
6 bay leaves
½ bottle white wine
300mls cream and 1 litre milk
1 can Amersham House Mussel Concentrate
Method
In a large pot bring to boil white wine - add mussels and with the lid on cook at high temperature for 5 minutes. Strain off keeping white wine stock.
When cool, clean mussels from shell and remove beard and tongue and chop roughly and leave to one side.
Dice onion, leek, carrot, garlic and potatoes in to small cubes.
In your large pot, heat butter and oil and add all vegetables and sauté for 10 minutes. Try not to brown vegetables. Add curry powder and flour and stir well and cook for a further 10 minutes on a low heat. Add ladle by ladle of strained mussel wine stock stirring as you go until you have a smooth thick consistency. Add bay leaves and mussel meat and milk and bring to a slow simmer stirring frequently until your soup is smooth, thick and glossy.
Simmer for 20 minutes - do not boil - add cream and serve. Garnish with chopped parsley. Be sure to check the seasoning and remove the bay leaves before serving.
NB This chowder will freeze well and come back as good as the day it was made.