Food

Mejillones con Bechamel

There isn't a lot of new stuff on the tasting bench at the moment, some new stuff is coming in the new year.  However, I have been enjoying some Spanish food and taking a second (or fifth) look at some of the wines I've tasted over the year.   Mussels with bechamel is a great snack or have it with a salad and call it lunch.

You will need: 

• Mussels. As many as you want to eat.  If you have 4 or more people 1Kg is a good size for tapas.
• 1 cup of bechamel (or white) sauce. I use the aussie version: butter, flour, bay leaf, pepper and onion.  Many Spanish recipes use olive oil, garlic, onion, parsley, and a little nutmeg. 
• egg beaten and bread crumbs for coating
• Olive oil for frying and finishing

How to make it: 

Steam the mussels and remove the cooked meat, saving the best shells.  Make the bechamel and leave it to chill so that it becomes hard.  Put a spoonful of bechamel over each mussel so that cover the bug and fill the seashell. Coat the top of the shell with egg and breadcrumbs and shallow fry the top half of shell.  throw the completed mussels on a plate with a bit of salad and drizzle with olive oil.

There are a couple of variations on the theme: add a small slice of jamon on top before crumbing (my favourite), add some grated cheese to the top and give it a quick grill after frying, and finally add some mild blue cheese to the bechamel for some extra funky flavours.

I find manzanilla is perfect with this dish, but an albarino with some good acid would go down a treat.