Mussels with fried potatoes. A cornerstone of Belgian cuisine. This was today’s lunch.
Mussels are a plentiful and cheap food, easily harvested along the coast of the North Sea. Although the prized catch comes from Schelde, a shallow river connecting western Belgium to the Netherlands and the North Sea, most mussels used in Belgium these days are imported from the Zeeland area of the Netherlands. Potatoes are also abundant and cheap so the mussels with fried potatoes became an affordable staple.
There are traditional broths for steaming the mussels. We both chose the creamy garlic broth. Expected: dunk your French fries in the broth and spoon up any remaining broth using one of the empty shells as a little scoop. The mussels themselves tasted fresh with not a speck of grit.
When in Belgium, try the beer. I’m not so fond of beer, but sometimes one must sacrifice and expand the tastebuds. This one was delightful. Grubb’s liquid of choice was…wait for it…cappuccino. What a surprise, hey?
Now that is what I call an wonderful lunch!!
Looks yummy but I’m waiting for the Chocolat review!!
That looks delicious. Makes me hungry for … mussels.
I first learned about moules mariniere when Christy and I were in Normandy in 1969. The government required restaurants to offer a cheap menu of the day. They offered the cheapest things they could and very often it was moules and flan for dessert. I learned to love both.