Moules marinière
Dreaming of seaside dining in France? With our recipe for the French classic, moules marinière, you are one step closer to this dream. The mussels are cooked with white wine, onion, and garlic. We have added a bit of cream to give the moules marinière sauce a nice creamy finish with aromatic herbs. Serve your mussels with freshly baked garlic bread, and your evening will surely be a success.
Ingredients
Mussels
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1 kilo
Fresh blue mussels
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20 g
Butter
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1
Finely chopped yellow onion (approx. 75 g)
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2
Small, crushed garlic cloves
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100 ml
Dry white wine
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¼ l
Double cream
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¼
Chopped fresh herbs, for example, parsley, dill, or basil
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1 tsp
Coarse salt
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Garlic bread
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4
Mini baguettes (approx. 200 g)
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20 g
Soft butter
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2
Small, crushed garlic cloves
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Instructions
Mussels
Garlic bread
Recommended information
Serving suggestion
Tips
The secret to a creamy, savoury moules marinière is fresh mussels. A fresh mussel is closed and shiny dark blueish shells without a fishy smell. It is best to buy live mussels rather than vacuum-packed ones. They are best eaten the same day they are bought but will keep well for about 3 days in the fridge. However, they need to breathe, so keep them loosely wrapped in a tea towel at the bottom of the refrigerator.
Tips
Clean the mussels with a brush no more than two hours before cooking them. Make sure to inspect each of them before using them and give them a good scrub in cold water to remove any grit or dirt still attached to the shells. Pull out any beards coming out from between the shells.
Tips
And most importantly, discard any broken or open mussels that will not close when tapped gently against the kitchen counter. Also, you should not eat any mussels that have not opened after cooking. With these tips in mind, you are sure to get the best result.
Questions about moules marinière
With our moules marinière recipe, you can create a delicious French classic at home without any big fuss. Read below to learn some of the most important facts about the French seafood classic.
What is moules marinière?
Moules marinière, or moules à la marinière, is a traditional French dish with fresh mussels. ‘Á la marinière’ loosely translates to ‘like a sailor’, meaning something that can be cooked on the dock, a deck of a ship, or the like, easily and quickly. It consists of steamed mussels cooked in a white wine sauce with onion, garlic, butter, and herbs. We have also added a splash of double cream to our recipe to give the sauce a creamier consistency and a richer flavour, perfect for dipping, for example, freshly baked garlic bread.
How to make moules marinière?
First, rinse and scrub the mussels and discard the ones that do not close when knocked lightly against the kitchen counter. Next, melt butter in a pan over high heat and sauté onion and garlic for roughly 2 minutes. Then add mussels and wine and cook everything over medium heat with a lid on top for about 5 minutes. Give the pan a good shake now and then. Discard the mussels that have not yet opened before adding cream, herbs, and salt to the pan. Heat well and adjust the flavour if needed. Serve and enjoy!
What to serve with moules marinière?
You can serve moules marinière with homemade garlic bread. It is prepared quite easily by cutting a few slits into a loaf of bread but without cutting all the way through. Mix butter and crushed garlic and spread the mixture between the slits of the loaf. Bake the bread on a baking sheet lined with baking paper in the middle of the oven at 200°C for about 5 minutes until the butter has melted and the bread has a golden hue. The crustiness of the bread adds a nice texture to the moules marinière.
What is the best wine for moules marinière?
The delicate and slightly briny flavours of the mussels pair perfectly with a dry white wine. A chardonnay is a classic choice for moules marinière. With its creamy texture and rich taste, the wine stands up well to the richness of the dish, while the acidity provides a great balance to the buttery flavours. For a lighter pairing, sauvignon blanc is the best choice, as the citrusy notes cut through the richness of the dish and offer a refreshing counterpoint to the savoury flavours.
French moules marinière with white wine and cream
Bring a taste of France straight home to your dinner table with a delicious seafood classic. Moules marinières or moules á la marinière are mussels cooked in a white wine sauce with herbs, onion, garlic, and cream. The French classic was traditionally eaten by fishermen on their boats, hence ‘à la marinière’ meaning ‘like a sailor’, but has since become an elegant and classy dinner dish that is particularly popular throughout coastal towns in France. Luckily, it is very easy to make at home as long as you can get your hands on fresh mussels.
Want to explore more French cuisine? Take a look at our recipes for classic coq au vin, quiche Lorraine with ham and crème fraiche, and a fresh salade Niçoise with tuna and black olives.
Serve with crisp garlic bread
Crisp homemade garlic bread is the perfect pairing for moules marinière and adds a nice texture to the creamy marinière sauce. It is the best and easiest side dish, ready in a matter of minutes. Butter and garlic are mixed and spread between the slits of the bread loaves and baked crispy and golden, allowing the juicy aromas of the butter mixture to seep into the bread. What is not to love about crispy warm bread with butter and garlic?
Enjoy a creamy, savoury mussel dish for dinner
The elegant moules marinière is on its own the perfect appetiser or light lunch, and with the crisp garlic bread, it makes for a tasty dinner. Dive into a bowl of steaming hot moules marinière with a creamy white wine-infused sauce and aromatic fresh herbs. The best part is you can enjoy it all year round whenever you are craving a taste of the sea. Serve it with a glass of white wine and some crusty garlic bread. It makes for a fancy dinner with simple elements that are easy to prepare, even if you are a novice in the mussel department.
Choose the best wine for moules marinière
When picking a wine for moules marinière, it is important to find one that can hold up to the bold flavours of onion and garlic without overpowering the rich taste of the dish. Further, the wine should also complement the briny flavours of the mussels. Dry white wines like chardonnay and sauvignon blanc fit the bill wonderfully.
A chardonnay has the perfect richness and creaminess to stand up to and balance the flavourful aromas of the dish. Sauvignon blanc is the best pick if you are looking for a lighter and more refreshing pairing with notes of citrus that provide a delightful contrast to the savoury flavours.
Finally, an Alsace Riesling has a delicious sharpness with floral notes and a racy acidity that cuts through the cream and takes on a subtle sweetness when cooked.
Try out a classic moules frites
Moules frites is a popular Belgium variation of the classic moules marinière served with salty, crispy fries. The fries are quick and easy to make and perfect to dip into the white wine sauce. The combination of creamy sauce and crispy fries is a delightful taste experience. For the fries, peel and cut the potatoes into sticks and pat them dry. Toss the sticks with salt and fry them until crisp and golden. Sprinkle with a little more salt once they are done and serve them on the side along with the moules marinière.
