Dutch Mussels
The Dutch do love their mussels, honoured there as zwarte goud — black gold — although it’s true that their neighbours the Belgians unfairly get more credit for them. Of course, you don’t need to make these with actual Dutch mussels: this recipe is so-called more for the beer I cook them in. The first time I ordered mussels cooked in beer — at a restaurant in Amsterdam, many years ago — I worried that the bitterness might be intrusive, but that first mouthful of deep, rich broth put me right. The key, I feel, and it’s how I cook them, is to use butter, and lots of it: it balances the bitterness of the beer, and seems to help thicken the broth sweetly as the mussels steam. The fennel I cook in said butter before adding the mussels to the pan is also what you might call a Dutch touch: it’s a combination much favoured there — and elsewhere, too, it’s true: its gentle aniseed flavour softens on cooking to provide a light herbal sweetness that highlights the bolstering brininess of the mussels. It’s a classic combination for a reason. Fennelphobes could, of course, use shallots instead, but the aniseed flavour is sufficiently muted for all but the most aniseed-antagonistic palates. But I, very much a fennelphile, punch up the aniseed element with an exuberant amount of fresh dill, along with an equally enthusiastic scattering of parsley and chives. The mussels themselves take no more than a few minutes to cook, and the fennel and garlic that are called on to provide their aromatic flavours first hardly need a great deal of time in the pan, making this a sumptuous speedy feast.
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