Mussel Soup With Aïoli And Saffron
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
- 3 leeks (white and pale green parts only) chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 1/2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup Fino sherry
- 2 cups fish stock (don't use clam juice!)
- 1/1/2 cups Aioli (http://www.food52.com/recipes...crabbeignetswithaolidippingsauce)
- 3 pounds mussels steamed and removed from their shells
- Heat oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, leeks, celery, bell pepper, bay leaf and saffron to the skillet and saute for 5 minutes. Add wine, fish stock and salt to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Puree mixture in batches in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Then force it through a tamis or fine sieve. You may wish to process the vegetable mixture a second time and again work the resulting liquid through the tamis. Soup can be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Return to the simmer before continuing.
- Stir aioli into the soup. Add mussels to the soup and simmer until just heated through, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf from soup.
- Serve the soup in large shallow soup plates with croutes. (These are slices of toasted baguette.)
- Teacher's Tip:tScrub and debeard mussels just before steaming. If done too far in advance, the mussels may die. Discard any mussels which do not close after tapping.
- Wine Tip: Serve an excellent Fino Sherry with this soup. It makes a fabulous first course as well as a luscious luncheon or Sunday night supper entree.
extravirgin olive oil, carrots, leeks, celery stalks, red bell peppers, bay leaf, saffron threads, salt, sherry, fish stock, mussels
Taken from food52.com/recipes/19171-mussel-soup-with-aioli-and-saffron (may not work)