Mussel Salad with Green Onion and Dill

Name: Mussel Salad with Green Onion and Dill: Ready in 15 Minutes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Frozen mussel meat 150 g; Dill 5-6 sprigs; Green onion 3-4; Lemon to taste; Olive oil to taste; Dry white wine 0.5 cup (100 ml); Salt, bay leaf, dried red chili pod to taste

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15 mins

If friends drop by, as they say, “for a beer,” I recommend quickly making a simple appetizer: a salad with mussels, green onion and dill. It is a surprisingly simple yet completely unexpected combination of flavors that people like and remember. And it takes only a quarter of an hour, even if you are cooking frozen mussel meat.

Mussels are marine bivalve mollusks found all over the world in all seas, and they are quite undemanding about their habitat. They are probably one of the most common and affordable kinds of seafood, along with shrimp. But while shrimp are best eaten with a sauce, mussels are better suited as an addition to various dishes, such as pasta with mussels or mussels with rice, and so on. However, shrimp sauceis quite suitable as a dressing for a seafood salad.

If you plan to make a mussel salad, it helps to know that the mussels sold are often farmed on special farms or mussel beds, and they may not be entirely “clean.” In addition, mussel meat or mussels in shells can contain sand, small stones or even “pearls” and shell fragments. These are probably the most unpleasant things about mussels, since you can damage your teeth.

Cooking mussels usually comes down to briefly boiling the cleaned meat or quickly steaming the shells until they open. You can leave mussels unsalted and skip the spices. The taste will be unfamiliar but very pleasant. As an appetizer, mussels are usually served with just lemon juice, and that is enough. For a mussel sauce, tomato or tomato pulp is used. Mussel pilaf and mussel pizza are exceptionally tasty, not traditional but very good.

Mussel meat is very tender and, like all seafood, does not like long cooking. Nearly all seafood, mussels included, turns into something like chewy jelly candies if overcooked and loses its flavor.

A simple mussel salad is a worthy quick appetizer that you won’t be embarrassed to serve to friends. Also, despite being affordable and widespread, mussels are considered a delicacy and are somewhat exotic. It is very convenient to buy frozen, cleaned mussel meat, which is easy to cook and almost certainly will not contain any hard foreign bits. This meat makes excellent fried mussels in batter, which can also be a great appetizer, or a delicious mussel and tomato soup, along the lines of Manhattan clam chowder.

7 ingredientsTo the recipe

More with mussels

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Warm Mussel and Red Bean Salad

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Fried Mussels in Batter

30 min

Mussels with Vegetables

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How to Cook Mussels

15 min

Ingredients

1 serving

Frozen mussel meat 150 g
Dill 5-6 sprigs
Green onion 3-4
Lemon to taste
Olive oil to taste
Dry white wine 0.5 cup
(100 ml)
Salt, bay leaf, dried red chili pod to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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Mussel salad can be made with frozen, cleaned meat as well as with mussels in shells. There is no need to thaw the mussels first. The green onion and dill must be as fresh as possible. If necessary, you can soak the herbs in cold water beforehand. Cold water, by the way, greatly extends how long herbs keep, leaving them crisp and fresh.
Since mussels are usually sold farmed, they need a little cleaning before cooking. It is best to put the frozen mussel meat in a small saucepan, cover it with water level with the mussels and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils and a lot of foam forms, rinse the mussels in cold water. Also look the mollusks over. You often need to remove the remains of the byssus threads, shell fragments and possibly bits of liver, the dark part at the top.
In a saucepan, mix 0.5 cup each of natural dry white wine and water, add a pinch of salt, one bay leaf and, if you like, a dried chili pod. The chili will not add noticeable heat, but a barely perceptible hint of pepper is very welcome. In essence, you are making a broth to cook the mussels in. Bring the mixture to a boil and drop the cleaned mussels into the boiling liquid. Cook the mussels for no more than 2 mins, or they will become tough.
Drain the cooked mussels in a colander to let the liquid run off, then spread them in a single layer on a large plate. Mussels cool very quickly, which is why this dish is made so fast. If liquid drains out as the mussels cool, pour it off.
Peel and wash the green onion and cut off the white part. For the appetizer you only need the green “feathers.” The rest of the onion can go into a vegetable soup. Slice the green onion feathers the same way as for onion and egg salad. Pick the leaves off the dill sprigs and chop them finely with a knife. Combine the mussel meat, cooled to room temperature, with the green onion and dill and stir.
Put the mussels and herbs on a plate. Make the dressing by mixing 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of lemon juice. Whisk the dressing with a fork and pour it over the salad.
Now the salad is ready to serve. There is no need to chill it; the appetizer should be at room temperature. Since mussels are often served with plenty of lemon, I suggest adding a lemon quarter to the salad, so it can be squeezed on at the table if you like.
Mussel salad can be an appetizer for an aperitif or a glass of ice-cold beer, whichever you like. It can also be part of elaborate fish and seafood appetizer spreads for big feasts.