Steamed Mussels with Tomato and Tarragon

1 kg mussels
30 ml dry white wine
60 g tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
5g French tarragon, finely chopped
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
30g unsalted butter
 

Make sure the mussels are tightly closed. If they are fresh-farmed ones there is no need to wash them, but if they are showing any signs of grit or sand wash them in copious amounts of cold water.

Take a large saucepan, add the olive oil and garlic and soften over a medium heat for about a minute. Add the mussels or pippies, turn up the heat and add the white wine.  Put a lid on the pan and cook for a few minutes until all the shells have opened, but only just.  Stir the shells once or twice during the cooking to distribute them evenly. Remove and pour through a colander set over a bowl.

Keep the mussels warm while you transfer the liquor to a pan, heat until boiling, whisk in the butter then add the tomato and tarragon. Check the seasoning; it’s always a good idea to leave seasoning to the end with shellfish because you never know how salty they are going to be, then add salt if necessary and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the mussels back into the pan. Serve with plenty of crusty bread or alternatively with a mound of al dente linguine pasta.

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