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Yield: 4 servings
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 serrano peppers, stemmed and thinly sliced (Note: to make
this a milder dish, remove the seeds from the peppers.)
- 48 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
- 1 pinch saffron
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 extra large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large peppers, 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green, roasted, peeled,
stemmed, seeded and cut into quarters
- ½ cup cucumbers peeled, seeded and diced (¼-inch)
- ¼ cup red onion diced (¼-inch)
- ¼ cup black oil cured olives, chopped
- ¼ cup whole flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 Tablespoon chili oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, halved
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the
shallots, garlic and serrano peppers, season with salt, and cook
until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mussels, saffron and white
wine. Cover and steam just until the mussels have opened, about
5 minutes. Don't overcook or the mussels will be tough. Remove from
heat.
Scoop the mussels out of the pan and spread them in a single layer
to cool. (Do not discard the cooking juices.) When they are completely
cooled, remove and discard the top shells. Cover the mussels with
plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
While the mussels are cooling, simmer the cooking juices (with the
shallots, garlic and serrano peppers) over medium-high until reduced
to about 1 tablespoon of liquid. Transfer the reduction (with the
shallots, etc.) to a bowl. Use a spatula to get all the juices,
if necessary.
To make the saffron mayonnaise, add the egg yolk and lemon juice
to the mussel reduction and whisk until foamy. Whisk the vegetable
oil one drop at a time until an emulsion forms. Carefully whisk
in the rest of the oil in a thin steady stream. Season with salt
and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.
To serve, arrange one of each of the pepper quarters on 4 plates
and season with salt and pepper. Distribute the mussels in their
half-shells in and around the peppers. Set a spoonful of mayonnaise
next to the peppers. Sprinkle the plate with cucumber, red onion,
olives and parsley leaves. Drizzle with chili oil or extra virgin
olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
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