Recipe, The Little Geranium – Truffled Mussels with Squid Ink Spaghetti and Tarragon
Truffled Mussels with Squid Ink Spaghetti and Tarragon
Cooked for Rod Stewart and Rachel Hunter.
This very simple recipe is currently on the menu at The Little Geranium restaurant in La Cala de Mijas. It’s a real show stopper!
Ingredients (for 4 people)
- 250g of squid ink spaghetti (or any type of spaghetti) cooked al dente in boiling water with a little olive oil and salt and then refreshed in cold water.
- 1 kg of fresh mussels washed and de bearded
- 2 cloves garlic chopped finely
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 glasses of dry white wine
- Some white truffle oil (approx. 2 teaspoons)
- 250 ml of fresh double cream
- Bunch of fresh tarragon (leaves picked from the stalk)
- Juice of 1 lemon or lime
- 125g of butter chilled and cut into chunks
- Pinch of sea salt (or Maldon salt)
- A little fresh black pepper
Preparation
Firstly heat a large pan on the stove until very hot and drop in the mussels. Now add the onion and garlic and stir in well. Now add the wine and put a lid on the sauce pan and shake the pan well leaving it on the heat.
After only a few minutes check the pan and stir well with a wooden spoon. Now add the double cream and the butter and stir in well and remove from the heat once you can see the mussels have opened.
Allow them to cool by tipping them out onto a flat tray or dish but ensure that you reserve all the creamy liquor.
Discard any mussels that haven’t opened. Remove the mussel meat from the shells and discard the shells.
Now pass the creamy liquor through a fine sieve to catch all the bits of shell and grit etc. Pour this sauce into a clean frying pan and reduce a little, taste and season if necessary.
Add the mussels and stir well and finally add the cooked and refreshed pasta.
Finally add the tarragon leaves and stir in and then portion it out into 4 small bowls using tongs to ensure that you are serving the same amounts to each bowl. You should be serving at least 12 mussels per person and about 1 heaped tablespoon of spaghetti per portion and plenty of the lovely sauce.
Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over each portion and finally drizzle a little truffle oil over each and serve whilst steaming hot.
More recipes from Steven Saunders, The Little Geranium, La Cala de Mijas, Spain.
