Along the lines of the Spanish Omelette comes the $1.50 entree. Yes, you guessed it, Mussels in Olive Oil, anointed with, as usual, a brisk chablis. Depending on how much chablis you drink, the price could vary.
This isn’t a recipe so much as a caveat wrapped in a Woolworths docket. Mussels come in all types, fresh, canned, and those you use if you’re a caterer. However, before you write off this entrée, let me explain the vast range of mussels on the market. At the top end of the culinary experience is Nick’s Bar and Grill on Darling Harbour. This superb seafood restaurant employs a dedicated oyster shucker. At last count his name was Henrí. He also shucks clams and mussels. It’s worth a visit to Nick’s to see him in action.
Having partaken of Nick’s wonderful seafood you may be asking,’but does it have to cost me a mortgage payment just to enjoy food like this?’ Well, no, it doesn’t. You could go to a local seafood restaurant and order mussels, but really, you’d be better off choosing the beer-battered fish.
However there is help at hand, and as usual it comes from our friends at Homebrand. They have come up with the brilliant idea of bottling the magic of such restaurants as Nick’s and making it available to ex-pat Nick’s customers like myself. For the price of a toothpick you can buy a can of smoked mussels, pour some olive oil over the top, add chopped onions and salt, and for $1.50 you can almost see yourself at Darling Harbour, without the crowds and the parking problems.
