This recipe is my take on mussels provencal and is a really fun way to impress your guests in an easy way! Pete Wells wrote about it in my New York Times review so it is very dear to my heart.  We also served it all summer long at every event we have done and got rave reviews. It can be served cold or hot! Equally delicious.

Mussels Provencal
serves 4 as a main

1kg of mussels, cleaned and beard removed
¼ head of fennel, thinly sliced
1 shallots, diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1tsp chili flake + 1tsp ground coriander
1tsp tomato paste
250ml white wine
500g cans cherry tomatoes

 

Sweat fennel, shallots, garlic in blended oil until translucent, being careful not to get any colour whilst cooking. Add chili flake and coriander and toast, about 30 seconds. Add paste and cook down, then add wine and cook simmer for 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol. 
 
Separate the cherry tomatoes in two equal batches. In a bowl, toss 1 batch tomatoes with olive oil, salt & pepper and cook in a hot oven until dark and blistered. Strain the juice from the roasted tomatoes, and set the strained juice and roasted tomatoes aside for later use. Slice the remaining cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.
 
Add the roasted tomato juice and cleaned mussels to the simmering liquid, cover and cook until mussels open completely.
 
Remove mussels from shells and set mussels aside. Strain and keep the broth, transferring to a medium saucepan to cook down until reduced by half and season to taste.
 
In warm bowls, evenly distribute the blistered and fresh tomatoes and mussels then finish with mussel juice and a dash of good olive oil.
Enjoy with crusty bread and butter!

  Alex Baker is the executive chef at Yves. She is Paris-trained, having gone to culinary school and worked at Spring and Le Chateaubriand there, before coming to New York to help open Rebelle in 2015. At Yves, she interprets French food with an appealingly relaxed, seasonal attitude