Steamed Mussels in a Bleu Cheese and Chipotle Broth with Bacon and Apples, with Pommes Frites

When was the last time you had a craving for food? What did you crave?

When you’re surrounded by food everyday like I am, it’s very rare that I get cravings. Unfortunately for me, food cravings just don’t happen too much anymore. Food is fuel these days. I don’t eat to stimulate. I eat to keep going. When I am in my sweltering hot, airless kitchen I never eat a full meal. I eat small portions of low-fat proteins and very little carbohydrates. I drink tons of water with lemon or orange peels to liven up usually boring water. Most people wouldn’t stand for this type of diet, but for me, it works.

This past week, a craving finally hit. A chef friend of mine was visiting the Kansas City area and I told her that she needed to stop by this little French bistro called Aixois. Aix is the French city and the “ois” simply means “in the style of.”

This little bistro was wonderful. When I was there, we had lovely plates of charcuterie, pates and French cheeses accompanied by warmly toasted baguette. The table was full of French wines and the service was perfect. I ordered the Moules Frites or steamed mussels with fries, the classic French bistro lunch item. On this day, the chef chose to serve the mussels in a creamy bleu cheese broth, which was perfect for the toasted baguette and fries.

The recipe that I am presenting you today is my interpretation of that dish.

Steamed Mussels in a Bleu Cheese and Chipotle Broth with Bacon and Apples and sided with Pommes Frites.

What you’ll need:

• 1 pound Mussels, cleaned and rinsed under cold, cold water!
• 2 Shallots, finely diced
• 6 Cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 6 Slabs of bacon cut on the width in strips. The French call them lardons.
• 2 Granny Smith apples, diced. Peel on is fine.
• 1 Cup of Sherry wine
• 2 Bunches of fresh spinach
• 4 Chipotles
• 2 Cups of bleu cheese crumbles
• 3 Cups of heavy cream
• 1 Knob of butter

Ready chef? Let’s go!

First, in a medium-sized stockpot, render the fat of the bacon on medium heat. There’s no reason to jack the heat up in this situation. Keep it at a medium heat to allow all the fat from the bacon to render out, thus crisping the bacon to it’s fullest potential.

When the bacon is crispy, add in the shallots, garlic and a pinch of sea salt and sauté until the garlic has turned a nice caramel color.

Now add the apples and chipotle and sauté for another two minutes.

Deglaze the pot with the Sherry wine making sure to scrape up any fond that has accumulated at the bottom of the pot. That fond is flavor and you need this. When the wine has reduced by half, swill in the heavy cream and bring to a slow simmer. When the creamy broth has begun to bubble at a gentle rate, add in the mussels and slap on the lid of the stockpot.

At this point, it’s a good idea to start slicing your baguette into ¾ inch slices. Place the sliced bread on a sheet pan, drizzle the bread with good olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the sheet pan of bread slices in your preheated 375-degree oven and toast the baguette slices. When the edges of the bread slices have begun to darken, remove from the heat. About 8 minutes. 

Now that your mussels have been bathing in their creamy broth, remove the lid and begin the process of extracting the mussels. When the shells of the mussels have opened, they are ready to be removed. If the shell has yet to open, give them another minute or two. If they still haven’t opened, discard them. Very important.

To plate, arrange the gaping mussels to your finest white rimmed bowl. When all the mussels have been transported to the bowl, add in the spinach and bleu cheese crumbles to the stockpot and season the broth with salt and pepper. It’s very important to add the cheese at the very last minute. The idea here is to have bits of bleu cheese crumbles in the broth. If the cheese sits too long in the broth the cheese will fully melt and that’s not what we’re trying to do here. We want bits of bleu cheese chunks in our broth. Trust me on this one!

Lastly, when the broth is ready, ladle the broth over your mussels making sure you get every last bit of bacon, apples and bleu cheese on top of your final presentation. Finish the presentation with a few slices of your wonderfully toasted baguette and sit back and enjoy.

Oh, one more thing. If you’re wondering where the recipe is for the Pommes Frites or French Fries good luck. I’m not giving that one out! It’s going to take a lot of good wine to get that secret out of me.

Buen Provecho!