Event: Making Mussels at Cheval Blanc, Moseley

A warm bowl of steaming hot mussels is a rare treat, especially in landlocked Birmingham, where seafood is a speciality rarely enjoyed.

But wait! Cheval Blanc in Moseley invited myself and Emily from Good Girl Gone Brum to learn how to make this delicious delicacy.

A weekly addition to the menu, mussels can be enjoyed at Cheval Blanc every Saturday and Sunday in a variety of forms for just £5. Served with crusty sourdough bread, it can also be matched to a delicious wine for an additional fiver.

Prior to the hard work commencing, we were able to sit at the bar and enjoy a tipple or two. Despite Cheval Blanc being a wine bar, I decided on a G&T instead whilst Emily went for a more traditional approach and enjoyed a glass of wine.

Back to our lesson. We were invited into the kitchen with Cyd to learn how to tempt these fleshy morsels to flavour greatness. At the back of the Moseley restaurant is the kitchen where Cyd whips up dishes such as venison carpaccio, pate and arancini. 

Here, Cyd went through the process of showing us how to make a beautiful bowl of Curry Madras Mussels. 

(Serves two)

500g mussels per person

15g finely chopped shallots

15g grated carrots

1tbsp chopped chives

2 tsp curry madras powder

10cl white wine

10cl double cream

Method:

Warm up 1tbsp clarified butter in a pan. Raise the heat to 220 degrees, add shallots and carrots followed by curry madras. Add white wine, let it reduce, add double cream and let it reduce until almost dry. Cook for a few minutes. Add a sprinkle of chives and voila!

The lesson was filmed for the Cheval Blanc website and the link to the video is here if you'd like to see Cyd in action and hear me talk about the evening.

Of course, we had to taste test the final product and I can definitely say that I will be back for another serving of these delicious delights.

*With thanks to Cheval Blanc Moseley for the cookery class and complimentary mussels.