Stomachs Eleven: Mussel mania

It started at Bathers.

As we slurped and scraped our way through the bowl of mussels on the table, the G-man suddenly asked "Do you remember the time we had the all-you-can-eat mussels at Bungalow 8?"

I nod, ruefully.

"We had four pots!" Gun declares proudly to the assembled throng. "Four kilos! Each!"

Heading shaking, I make a wan sort of smile. Oh yes, I remembered. I had eaten about ten mussels since then. In total. In three-and-a-half years. Gluttony has a way of getting back at you.

"Forget about all-you-can-eat," said Pig Flyin. "Mussels are easy. We should just cook our own."


Pimms with lemonade, mint and cucumber

This is why I love Pig Flyin.

Two days later, we are congregated at his place. M&L arrive with a styrofoam box filled with mussels from the fish markets--pre-washed to make the job easier--and once again we lay witness to the carefree but inmistakeable expertise of Pig Flyin in his element in the kitchen.


Kinkawooka Shellfish live pot-ready mussels

There are ten kilograms of mussels. It doesn't seem much, until we look around and realise that once again, Pig Flyin has prepared plenty of other dishes.

"Wait until you see dessert," says Mrs Pig Flyin with a wink. "I think we went a little overboard."

The G-man and I just look at each other and grin, our eyes sparkling with delight.


Cleaning the mussels

There are pots and pans, mis-en-place and herbs. Whilst Pig Flyin gives the mussels a quick scrub down in the kitchen, the G-man and I are sent off into the backyard to forage. "I need cucumber and mint and basil leaves," Pig Flyin says, and I trot out obediently before whispering to the G-man "what on earth do cucumber leaves look like?!"

We find them eventually. It's a garden that's filled with so many good things. I asked him for a list of what he grows in his garden - this is what he came back with:

• habanero chili
• jalapeno chili*
• bay leaves*
• Thai basil*
• sweet basil*
• bush crop cucumber *
• dwarf beans*
• mint*
• cos lettuce
• coriander*
• flat leaf parsley*
• Hungarian yellow pepper*
• perilla (japanese basil, shiso)
• lemongrass
• rocket/arugula
• eggplant
• strawberries (very unsuccessful - as it should be)
• zucchini
• red mignonette lettuce
• beetroot
• "beauty heart" radish - a Chinese radish that Americans call Chinese watermelon radish
• oregano
• thyme*
• French tarragon
• broad beans (harvests much earlier in spring time)
• cherry tomatoes
• Burke's Backyard tomatoes
• curry plant (my latest addition...)
• fennel
• kaffir lime
• rosemary
• rainbow chard - silverbeet with colourful stalk.

*Used in our mussel dinner tonight


Pan-roasted homegrown Hungarian yellow peppers with garlic cloves and salt

As we loiter in the kitchen, admiring the cooking show, we're plied with appetisers. The homegrown Hungarian pepers are not as lethal as they first appear. Simply pan-fried with whole garlic cloves and sea salt, the chillies take on a beautiful burnished colour, tasting more like yellow capsicums, sweetened by garlic.


Bagna cauda with homegrown vegetables

Bagna cauda is a warm Italian dipping sauce of anchovies, garlic, olive and butter that is perfect for dipping in raw or blanched crunchy vegetables. Most of the vegetables have come from Pig Flyin's garden and it's interesting to see how each complements the sauce. We're also quite greedy in trying to capture as much of the anchovy and garlic debris as possible. My favourite combination is the celery top, the leaves more sweet than bitter, and, coincedentally, a perfect vehicle for catching the anchovy and garlic smithereens.


Mussels in the pot

Clang! Clatter! Bang!

The sound of mussel shells hitting the bottom of a pot is magic. We're told that we're having mussels five ways tonight. I'm incredulous but salivating at the thought.


Mussel dish #1: Teochew-style with basil, garlic and chilli

There's a mass exodus from the kitchen when the chilli gets added to the frypan. Coughing our way back to the dining room, the fumes of chilli have dissipated by the time the dish is placed on the table. Our first mussel dish is Teochew style, served with garlic, fresh basil leaves and lots of finely sliced chilli.

The chilli kick to the mussels is a great way of awakening our tastebuds and getting our appetite going. The G-man, a chilli fanatic, declares this his favourite of the evening.


Hoegaarden Belgian wheat beer

Can you have mussels without beer? Our next course transports us straight to Belgium.


Cooking the mussels with garlic, cream and beer


Mussel dish #2: Belgian-style with garlic, cream and Hoegaarden beer


Mussels in Hoegaarden cream

Our second serve of mussels is a richer dish, bathed in a cream sweetened by garlic and the addition of Hoegaarden wheat beer.

Is it a winner?


The boys drinking up the cream sauce

Oh yes it is.


Mussel dish #3: Thai-style with green curry

There's a tangle of lemongrass stalks on the next interpretation. We jet back to Asia for the fiery spiciness of mussels served Thai-style with green curry.


Thai green curry mussels

The green curry paste has come from a can, but the flavour is phenomenal. There's plenty of backburn in the coconut sauce, but the shallots and lemongrass create an undertone of freshness. I also quite enjoy sucking on the lemongrass, much like a stalk of sugarcane, relishing the hit of lemongrass flavour as well as the green curry sauce soaked within.


Mussel dish #4: Italian-style - Mitilo alla Puttanesca

Puttanesca is said to have come about as a dish made quickly from larder staples and served to the women working in brothels. Puttana is the Italian word for whore, although others say the name origin comes from puttanata which means rubbish or leftovers.

Here, the thickened tomato sauce, rich with anchovies, olives and garlic, is a good match with the mussels. The highlight is the serving of garlic croutons on top, a spur-of-the-moment addition made whilst Pig Flyin waited for the last guests to arrive. I'm glad they were late. The sourdough bread cubes have been deep-fried and scattered with incredibly fragrant caramelised garlic.


Mussel dish #5: Mussels with shellfish bisque

Our mussel finale is the most decadent of them all. We conclude with mussels served in a shellfish bisque, made from prawn heads and scampi shells that Pig Flyin had been saving in the freezer. The bisque is rich and buttery, a deep shade of sunset yellow that glides down the throat.


Twice-cooked chips

And to mop up the sauce? We have thick slices of crusty sourdough but all the attention is on the twice-cooked chips. The potatoes have been par-boiled, spread out on a tray to dry in the fridge and then fried twice, once to cook and then a second time to crisp. They're amazing. The outside is beautifully golden and makes a mouthwatering audible crunch with every bite. Inside, the potato is soft and fluffy. It's a dish worthy of being served on its own.


The damage - 10kg of mussel shells

"So I hope you're ready for dessert," says Mrs Pig Flyin. "I think we probably made too many..."

"I was bored," says Pig Flyin apologetically.


Dessert #1: Strawberry balsamic granita
with macerated strawberries and fresh blueberries

The strawberry balsamic granita, Mrs Pig Flyin says, was apparently inspired by my strawberry balsamic cupcakes. The granita, made from a strawberry puree frozen with balsamic, is a lovely palate cleanser, especially enhanced by the macerated strawberries and plump blueberries.


Desserts #2 and #3: Burnt mango cream two ways

• With coconut and lime sago cream
• With coconut jelly and gula melaka caramel

There's an appreciative hush when the next dessert arrives. The burnt mango cream is beautifully presented in squat glasses, presented two ways because there had been leftovers so another variation was created. There's an Asian theme to both, the coconut jelly and mango cream offset by the slight bitterness of the gula melaka caramel. I relish the plump pearls of swollen sago in the other version, a little chewy and so light they're almost floating in the lime cream.


Dessert #4: Noble One jelly with poached white peaches

Noble One jelly with poached white peaches has an alcoholic kick, the soft-set jelly served in exquisite gold-tipped glasses brought back from Venice. Noble One is one of the most awarded desserts by De Bortoli. The bortrytis semillon is fragrant, sweet but complex and pairs well with the gently poached white peach, tinged with a blush of pink.


Poached white peaches


Dessert #5: Chocolate labneh cheese cake

Dessert number five looks rich and inviting. "It's not labneh is it?" I ask Pig Flyin, remembering a conversation I'd had with him last time.

He just smiles.


Chocolate labneh cheese cake
with freeze-dried raspberry and dark chocolate sorbet

Labneh is a style of Lebanese cheese made by straining natural Greek yoghurt overnight. It's easy to do and creates a thickened curd that's great on beetroot salads and more. Incorporated into a dessert, the chocolate labneh cheesecake is incredibly light but still possessing the depth of cocoa. Freeze-dried raspberries are crunchy puffs of tartness and a quenelle of chocolate sorbet provides an icy contrast.

"I am really sorry about force feeding you guys with desserts," Pig Flyin says again.

Oh no, the pleasure was all ours.


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Stomachs Eleven: Christmas 2010 (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Teochew feast (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Mole poblano and pulled pork tacos (Me)
Stomachs Eleven: Pizza and friends (Miss Rice)
Stomachs Eleven: Ten kilograms of mussels (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Shanghainese banquet (M&L)
Stomachs Eleven: Wagyu shabu shabu and dessert sushi (Silverlily)
Stomachs Eleven: Stuffed deboned pig's head + nose-to-tail eating (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: French feast (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Whole suckling pig and Chinese banquet (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Hotpot night (M&L)
Stomachs Eleven: Crackling roast pork and black sesame cupcakes (me)
Stomachs Eleven: No ordinary steak dinner (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Polish feast (Miss Rice)
Stomachs Eleven: Christmas 2009 (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Char siu and Hainan chicken (me)
Stomachs Eleven: Amazing impromptu dinner party (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Dumplings and Shanghai soy duck (M&L)