Photo by Maria Finn
This is my favorite way to prepare mussels. It’s dramatic and delicious and perfect over a fire at the beach. The classic way in coastal France to prepare terrée de moules is to set the mussels in a circular mandala, standing upright, their opening facing upward, and covered with a pile of pine needles. Light the pine needles on fire, and as the needles flame and burn down to ash, they cook the mussels and flavor them with a smoky pine essence. I place them upright in a cast-iron pan, add some butter and garlic, and a splash of white wine, and then cook them over a smoldering fire, with the pine needles flaming on top of them. And along with the pine needles, you can add dried rosemary and fennel branches and let those aromatics flavor your mussels as well. It never fails to wow.
Makes 4 servings
5 pounds of mussels, scrubbed clean
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups white wine
1 large bag of very dry pine needles gathered somewhere dogs are unlikely to have peed (see note)
1 dry rosemary branch, fennel, or other wild herbs (optional)
2 crusty baguettes, for serving
Build a fire. If the firepit has a grill, then the fire can still be flaming. (If not, let it burn down to glowing charcoals and put your pan directly onto the fire.)
In a large cast-iron pan, line the mussels, lips up in a circular pattern, and fill the pan with as many as possible so they stay upright.
Tuck the butter and garlic in around the mussels, and pour in the white wine.
Cover with the pine needles and other aromatics, if using. (Ashes of pine needles are part of the final flavor.)
Place the pan of mussels on the fire, and light the pine needles on fire. Watch it burn!
When the pine needles burn down to ashes, remove the pan from the fire.
Let people scoop mussels straight from the pan and sop up the juices with a chunk of bread torn off a baguette.
Note: You can rinse pine needles and then lay them out to dry if you’re worried about cleanliness. Also: DO NOT MAKE THIS INDOORS. I shouldn’t even have to write that. JUST DON’T. Make it at the beach where it can’t catch anything else on fire. Have a bucket of sand and plenty of water nearby.
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