Warm Mussel and Red Bean Salad

Cook the mussels

1. The salad is made with frozen mussel meat or mussels in their shells. Either way, the mussels need to be cooked.

2. Cook and clean the mussels. If they’re fresh-frozen, they’re most likely farmed, so it’s worth bringing them to a boil first and pouring off the first water. Then cook them for 2-3 minutes in fresh water. Cook mussels in shells with the shells on, throw away any that don’t open, and remove the cooked mussels from their shells. Try to pull out the dark beard inside the mussel meat: it’s tough and inedible. In the end you should have the amount of mussel meat you need.

   

Stew the vegetables with beans and mussels

1. We’ll make the mussel salad with red kidney beans. Red kidney beans don’t grow here, or rather I don’t grow them for various reasons. But they’re sold in cans, which work fine for a warm appetizer.

2. Flavor the oil with garlic. Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Quickly fry slightly crushed garlic cloves in the oil. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, discard it. The garlic’s job is to flavor the oil. But don’t overcook it, or the salad will have an unpleasant smell.

   

3. Fry the carrot and onion. Peel the carrot, dice it and fry in the oil until lightly browned.

   

   Peel the onion and slice it thinly lengthwise. Slicing it this way keeps the onion from falling apart as it cooks. Fry the onion together with the carrot.

   

4. Add the bell pepper and fry for 10 minutes. Remove the seeds and stem from the pepper and cut it into thin rings. Add it to the vegetables and fry everything for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

   

5. Add the chili and spices and simmer covered for 5-6 minutes. Add finely chopped chili pepper to taste. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Keep cooking covered over low heat for 5-6 minutes.

7. Add the beans and simmer for 5 more minutes. Rinse the canned red kidney beans in cold water to wash off the liquid from the can and add them to the vegetables.

   

8. Add the tomato and simmer covered for 5-6 minutes, until it softens and releases its juice. Meanwhile, scald the tomato with boiling water and peel it. It’s better to remove the seeds, especially if the tomato is ripe and red. It’s up to you, though. Cut the tomato into thin slices or wedges and add it to the vegetables and beans.

   If you like, add two lemon wedges along with the tomato: the salad comes out even tastier.

   

9. Add the mussels and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Put the mussel meat on top of the vegetables, stir, cover and simmer over low heat for 5-6 minutes.

   

Serving

1. Take the pan off the heat and let the salad cool a little, then put it on plates and serve. The salad shouldn’t be cold but slightly warm.

   

   Mussel salad makes a great appetizer or even a side for fish. Sometimes the salad is also drizzled with a little wine or balsamic vinegar, literally a few drops, if you like.