cream Archives

Breakfast recipes

Mussels in creamy fennel sauce

35 minutes

Afternoon tea

Haddock, asparagus and chive quiche

1 hour

Sweet treat

Eclairs with chocolate custard and drizzled dark chocolate

20 minutes

Fish recipes

Bacon, egg and cheese tartlets

20 minutes

Easter recipes

Hot cross bun bread-and-butter pudding

30 minutes

Panna cotta

Rose and yoghurt panna cotta with coconut caramel and fresh berries

30 minutes

Fridge dessert

Easy fridge cake with sliced nectarines

Fruity dessert

Roast stone fruit with honeyed cream

35 minutes

Chocolate recipes

Curtis Stone’s chocolate mousse souffles with peppermint ganache and whipped creme fraiche

15 minutes

Seafood recipes

Chilled mussel soup

30 minutes

Chilled mussel soup

Serves 8

Difficulty Easy

Prep Time 20 minutes, plus 1 hour’s soaking time

Cooking Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1.5 kg tightly closed mussels in the shell
1 cup dry white wine
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300 g red-skinned potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cup good-quality fish or seafood stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
fennel fronds, to garnish
1/2 cup cream

Method

1. Clean the mussels using a small sharp knife, or get the fishmonger to do it for you. Soak the tightly closed mussels in iced water for 1 hour. Discard any mussels that are not tightly closed.

2. Place the mussels in a large, heavy saucepan and add the wine and a few fennel fronds. Cover tightly and turn up the heat. Leave for a few minutes, then check to see whether the mussels have opened. Remove them from the pan as they open, leaving any unopened ones in the pan. Give them a chance to open but discard any that remain stubbornly closed. Set aside the mussels and strain the liquor. It should be about 1 cup.

3. Gently cook the chopped fennel in the olive oil and butter until very soft but still pale. Stir in the garlic and potatoes. Pour in the reserved liquor and stock and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

4. Set aside 1⁄4 of the mussels in the shell for garnishing. Remove the remaining mussels from their shells.

5. Blend the soup, adding half the shelled mussels, plus any extra liquor. Stir in the remaining shelled mussels and the cream. It shouldn’t need salt but a grinding of pepper would be good. Once cooled, chill. Chill the reserved mussels in the shell for garnishing.

6. To serve, thin down the soup with more stock if necessary. Check the seasoning and garnish with the mussels in the shell and a few torn fennel fronds. If you like, add a drizzle of cream to each serving.

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Mussels in creamy fennel sauce

Haddock, asparagus and chive quiche

Eclairs with chocolate custard and drizzled dark chocolate

Angelfish pie

Bacon, egg and cheese tartlets

Hot cross bun bread-and-butter pudding

Rose and yoghurt panna cotta with coconut caramel and fresh berries

Easy fridge cake with sliced nectarines

Roast stone fruit with honeyed cream

Curtis Stone’s chocolate mousse souffles with peppermint ganache and whipped creme fraiche

Chilled mussel soup

Chilled mussel soup

Ingredients

Method