Creamy Mussel Soup With Saffron

 

Ingredients:

1.5 kg mussels, well cleaned and rinsed
200 ml white wine
Fresh thyme
50 grams butter
2 shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped (you can use one of them as whole)
1 leek, chopped
A pinch of saffron
250 grams fish stock
150 ml double cream
1 egg yolk
1 courgette, julienned
4 slices ciabatta bread
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons parsley, chopped

How to cook:

Heat a saucepan until hot. Add the mussels, white wine and cover the pan with its lid. Steam for 2-3 minutes, or until all of the mussels have opened. You ahve to keep in mind that you should discard any mussels that have not opened. Take them out from the saucepan and keep them in a bowl. You should reserve the cooking liquid.

Now it is time to discard the shells from the mussels and just let the flesh. Put them in the saucepan again and add halk of your butter. . When the butter is foaming, add the shallots, one chopped garlic clove and the leek and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the saffron, stir well and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes more.Add the reserved cooking liquid and the fish stock. Stir well and bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add three quarters of the mussels to the pan and stir carefully.Let the soup cool, then transfer to a food processor in batches and blend to a purée. Pass the blended mussel soup through a fine sieve and return the sieved liquid to the pan. Add the double cream then cook gently until heated through. Whisk in the egg yolk and cook for a further minute, or until the soup has thickened. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a frying pan until medium hot, add the remaining butter and the courgettes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a griddle pan until hot, rub the ciabatta bread with the olive oil then griddle for one minute on each side. Remove the bread and rub with the garlic clove. Mix the remaining chopped garlic clove and the parsley together in a bowl.

Garnish with the reserved mussels, ciabatta and a sprinkling of garlic parsley. Kali oreksi!