Cook It Yourself: Sautéed Mussels in Ponzu Butter

Chef: Jamie Koch

Restaurant: Freestones City Grill

Recipe: Sautéed Mussels in Ponzu Butter

I’ve chosen to share this recipe because my best friend and I often cook for larger groups of friends at our home, and we don’t have a big dining area, so I prefer to serve things that can be shared while we’re all gathered around, instead of composing individual plates. This is a popular favorite that goes well with a cold beer. (We like Just Beer’s Golden Flounder.)

Ingredients:

-1 lb Mussels (cleaned and debearded)

-3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-1 ½ Cups White Wine (something fruity or sweet works best)

-2 Tbsp. Shallots (minced)

-2 Tbsp. Garlic (minced)

-2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter (softened at room temperature)

-2 – 3 Tbsp. Ponzu Sauce (Ponzu sauce is a citrus-infused soy sauce, which can be purchased at any local supermarket in the Asian foods section.)

Directions:

1. Soften butter in advance and in a small mixing bowl, gently whisk in Ponzu sauce. (You do not want the butter to be melted, just softened at room temperature.) Once sauce has been incorporated into the butter, put it in the fridge to chill.

2. In a large sauté pan (or wok), heat olive oil over medium heat. Gently sauté shallots and garlic for about one minute, then add mussels. Give the pan a couple tosses to make sure the mussels are lightly coated with olive oil mixture.

3. After cooking for one minute, add the white wine. Keep stirring and moving the mussels because you don’t want to burn the garlic or shallots.

4. Reduce heat and cover the pan. Check occasionally; the mussels should start opening in two or three minutes. Gently stir when you check them to keep the mussels covered in mixture.

5. Once the mussels are fully cooked and opened, remove the pan from the heat and add the butter you mixed earlier. Cover the pan until the butter is melted. Once the butter is melted, gently mix the mussels so that they are coated in the sauce.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

We like to serve this dish in the pan it was cooked in, because it keeps the dish hot. Also, we serve with crostinis for dipping. (The sauce is the meal after the mussels are gone!)

Crostinis:

Buy a baguette from the bakery at the supermarket and cut it into long, thin slices. Brush slices with olive oil, then top with a dash of salt and pepper and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about five minutes. Serve hot with the mussels.