Mussel Soup with Cream

Name: Mussel Soup with Cream, Leek and Potatoes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: French cuisine
Ingredients: Mussels 300 g; Water 3 cups (plus 0.5 cup cold water for the flour) (600 ml); Water for boiling the mussels as needed; Smoked salo (cured pork fat) 75 g; Potatoes 1-2; Leek 1; Parsley 5-6 sprigs; Garlic 1-2 cloves; Cream 200 ml; Dry white wine 100 ml; Olive oil 3 tbsp; Flour 1 heaping tsp (5 g); Salt, ground black pepper, nutmeg to taste; Herbs for serving optional

☆ Rate it

60 mins

I have always been interested in soups made with milk or cream and seafood, given the popular belief that they don’t go together. It is surprising that as soon as you cross our country’s borders, milk-based soups are not only there, they are eaten everywhere and often. For example, the American clam chowder is the common name for several traditional soups. One of them, New England clam chowder, is made from clams with cream added. How to clean and cook mussels, I have described separately, and another option is a mussel and bean salad.

Mussels removed from their shells work very well, fresh or frozen. You can also find live mollusks in their shells in stores; they are sold chilled and have a short shelf life.

Today we decided to make a hot soup with cream using frozen mussel meat, the way fishermen in some Western European countries make it right by the sea. As our own “national” touch, we will add a little smoked salo (cured pork fat).

Ingredients

2 servings

Mussels 300 g
Water 3 cups (plus 0.5 cup cold water for the flour) (600 ml)
Water for boiling the mussels as needed
Smoked salo (cured pork fat) 75 g
Potatoes 1-2
Leek 1
Parsley 5-6 sprigs
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Cream 200 ml
Dry white wine 100 ml
Olive oil 3 tbsp
Flour 1 heaping tsp (5 g)
Salt, ground black pepper, nutmeg to taste
Herbs for serving optional

Step-by-step recipe

Turn on cook modeKeeps your screen from turning off while the recipe is open

Preparation

Thaw and boil the mussels. Before cooking, thaw the mussels and boil them for a few minutes in lightly salted water. Set the boiled mussels aside.
Chop the vegetables, herbs and salo. Cut the leek, white part only, into 5 mm rounds.
Finely chop the parsley, and just chop the garlic into pieces with a knife. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Remove the rind from the smoked salo and dice it, as for Olivier salad.

Making the soup

Boil the potatoes. Pour three cups of water (600 ml) into a pot and bring to a boil. Salt the water lightly and boil the potatoes in it until done.
Sweat the leek with the herbs and garlic. Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet and add the sliced leek. Immediately add the chopped parsley and garlic. Cook over low heat, covered, until the leek is soft and begins to separate into rings.
Add the diced smoked salo and cook for another 10 minutes.
Simmer the mussels in wine. Add the boiled mussels.
Pour in half a cup of dry white wine (100 ml) and simmer everything for about 15 minutes.
Combine everything in the pot. By now the potatoes should be completely cooked. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the pot with the potatoes and stir. Bring the soup to a boil and pour in a cup of cream (200 ml).
Cook the soup for another 10 minutes over low heat, then thicken it with flour: mix 1 heaping tsp of flour (5 g) into 0.5 cup of cold water (100 ml) and pour it through a strainer into the pot.
When the liquid comes to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste, and add ground nutmeg, a knife tip or a little more. Cook for another 10 minutes.