In our restaurant this is a typical dish we make now and then if we have left over fish or seafood. This Spanish way off preserving in a acidy marinade keeps your fresh product for at least a month! We understand you probably don’t have left over fish or mussels laying around, so in this recipe we start by making fresh steamed mussels.

INGREDIENTS

Mussels

-       1kg Mussels
-       Small chopped shallot
-       ½ clove garlic, chopped
-       200ml white wine

Escabeche

-       100g shallot, diced
-       2x small carrots
-       1x steng celery
-       16g garlic, finely chopped
-       8x slices lemon (approx 1 large lemon)
-       16g paprika powder (Spanish)
-       60ml white wine vinegar
-       16 black peppercorns
-       Reduced cooking liquid from mussels
-       8g sprigs of rosemary
-       8g sprigs of thyme
-       16g bay leaf
-       16g salt

PREPARATION

1. Start with steaming the mussels. Put on a pan with a large surface and pre-heat. Fry off the shallot and garlic. Add the musses after 1-2 minutes and add the wine. Steam the mussels till they just open. We don’t want to cook the mussels, only open the shells. When the mussels are opened, discard the mussel to let cool a bit. Pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and put back on the stove to reduce by half.

   When the mussels are cooled down you can carefully remove them from the shells. Do this with some care as you don’t want to end up with broken mussels. We want to look good!

2. Now let’s start with the marinade which will cook and preserve the mussels.

   Fry off the shallot, garlic, carrot and celery for 5 minutes. Add the paprika powder, fry for a minute and add all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Take a sterilized jar and put in the mussels. Pour over the warm marinade and let completely cool down. Once cooled down put on the lid and put in the refrigerator for minimum of 24hrs. You can keep it this way for at least a month!

4. Serve the mussels in a small bowl.

   Tip: do you have any other leftover fish, seafood or even vegetables? Just add them, only make sure the marinade is enough to cover everything.