Tigres: Spanish Stuffed Mussels

A crispy shell hiding a creamy, briny filling. The kick of chili and smokiness of paprika awaken the minced mussel meat.

• Prep time: 45 min
• Cook time: 15 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 682
• Protein: 39 g
• Carbs: 54 g
• Fat: 32 g

Ingredients

• 1000 g Mytilus edulis ( cleaned )
• 100 ml Dry white wine
• 1 piece Onion ( finely minced )
• 2 piece Garlic ( minced )
• 50 g Minimum butter sweet
• 60 g Wheat flour
• 250 ml Whole milk
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika
• 1 pinch Hot pepper d'Espelette
• 1 tbsp Tomato caviar
• 2 piece Egg ( beaten )
• 150 g Breadcrumbs
• 500 ml Extra virgin olive oil ( for frying )

Instructions

1. Opening the mussels

   In a pan, toss the mussels with the dry white wine. Cover and heat on high. As soon as they open, remove them. Filter and keep the liquid for the sauce.

2. Preparing shells and meat

   Separate the meat from the shells. Keep the best half-shells and clean them. Roughly mince the mussel meat with a knife.

3. Aromatic base

   Sauté the minced onion and garlic in butter. When the onion is translucent, add the tomato caviar, smoked paprika, and Espelette pepper.

4. Making the filling

   Dust with flour and cook for one minute. Pour in the whole milk and 100ml of the mussel cooking liquid. Stir until the sauce thickens and heavily coats the spoon. Fold in the mussel meat.

5. Stuffing

   Fill each shell with the lukewarm filling. Smooth the surface so it's nicely rounded. Let cool completely so the filling sets.

6. Breading and frying

   Dip the filling side into the beaten egg, then into the breadcrumbs. Fry in hot olive oil until the crust is golden and crispy.

Chef's tips

• Filter the mussel cooking liquid through a fine cloth to remove any sand.
• The filling must be very firm before breading, otherwise it might leak during frying.
• Don't brown the onions; they should stay soft to avoid overpowering the mussel flavor.

Storage

Consume immediately after frying. You can prepare the stuffed mussels in advance and keep them refrigerated for 24 hours before breading and frying.