Moules Frites Recipe
- jonashton
- Sep 12
- 3 min read
Moules Frites
Like many of the dishes that have slipped quietly into our lives, the story of moules frites is not entirely clear. Mussels were long a favourite of the Flemish, a humble and less costly stand-in for fish. The marriage with crisp, hot fries came later, sometime in the 1800s, when a Brussels widow decided to sell the two together in her friterie. By the time the World’s Fair arrived in 1958, moules frites was no longer just a plate of mussels and potatoes but Belgium’s calling card to the world.
Today, it is hard to think of a more comforting combination. Briny, sweet mussels cooked until they open with a sigh, their juices making a broth fragrant with butter and wine. Golden fries alongside, their crunch a foil to the softness of the shellfish. A dish both rustic and celebratory, depending entirely on how hungry you are and how much bread you have to mop the pan.
Buying and Storing Mussels
Freshness is everything. Mussels should be closed tight, glistening, and kept cold on ice. If one gapes, give it a sharp tap against another. If it refuses to close, let it go. The smell should be of the sea itself, clean and faintly sweet. If there is even the slightest hint of something strong or fishy, you have left it too late.
Once home, keep them in a bowl in the fridge, loosely covered with a damp towel, and sit them on a bed of ice if you can. This way they will keep their cool and stay moist until you are ready.
Most mussels you find now are farmed rather than wild, raised on ropes that hang in the sea. They arrive already clean, purged of grit, and with little or no beard. Still, it is worth giving them a rinse under cold running water, rubbing away any dirt with your hands. If a beard remains — the wiry thread they use to anchor themselves to rock — tug it firmly towards the hinge of the shell.
The Fries
There is no shame in using frozen. Even the most ardent cook will reach for a bag from the freezer when the day has been long and the mussels are ready to go. The important thing is to make sure they are well cooked, properly crisp, and seasoned while they are hot. That said, if you have the energy for homemade fries, then by all means. They will be a glorious partner.
Cooking Moules Frites
The pleasure of this dish lies in its ease. There is little more to it than shallots, garlic, butter, wine, and the shellfish themselves. The only real labour is the slow cooking of the shallots and garlic. Do not rush this. Their raw bite needs to soften into something gentle and sweet.
Melt the butter in a heavy pan and let it sigh as the shallots tumble in. Give them time. Stir often. When the garlic follows, the kitchen will begin to smell of promise.
A glass of dry white wine is next. Some for the pan, some for yourself. Let it bubble fiercely, cook away a little of its sharpness, then tip in the mussels. Cover, and wait. In five minutes, maybe less, the shells will yawn open, their juices mingling with the wine and butter into a broth you will want to drink from the ladle.
Finish with lemon — zest and juice — and a scatter of parsley. The mussels will be plump, the sauce light but generous, the kind you need a hunk of bread to chase. Serve immediately with your fries.
Ingredients:
For the dish
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter
3 large shallots, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cups (480ml) dry white wine
Salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes
4 pounds (1.8kg) fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a wide pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and garlic, stirring until they are soft and sweet but not browned, 8–10 minutes. Raise the heat, pour in the wine, season, and let it reduce by half. Add the mussels, cover tightly, and cook over high heat, shaking the pan every minute, until the shells open, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon zest and juice, and finish with parsley.
Serve with fries and a little mayonnaise if you like. The mussels should be eaten hot, the broth soaked up with bread, and nothing at all wasted.
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