Cristo’s Mussels in Cream Sauce

Mussels in Cream Sauce (feeds 4-6):

• Ingredients

• 3 scallions

• Salt (to taste)

• 10 cloves garlic

• 2 large shallots

• 6T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 6 sprigs fresh dill

• Small handful of fresh Thyme

• 4lbs of Mussels from To The Gills

• 2 tsp white sugar

• 2 whole lemons

• 1 ½ pints heavy cream

• ⅛ pound of salted butter

• (optional) Pernod or other anise based liqueur

• Prep

• Scallions: cut in half, separating white section from green section

• White: slice on a bias at medium thin thickness

• Green: slice as thin as possibly on a perpendicular angle from stalk

• Garlic: crush lightly to remove peel from clove, then dice finely, discarding butt

• Shallots: Halve from end to end and dice finely

• Thyme: tie bunch together with twine or food-safe string for easy removal later

• Lemons: Halve both lemons width wise, set one aside for garnish, juice remaining 1 ½ lemons

• Cooking

Start with a medium/large pot (big enough to hold everything while still being able to stir freely) on low heat. While cold, add 6T EVOO and White part of Scallion. Allow scallion to sweat slowly. Once scallion begins to appear translucent and smell fragrant, add in shallots, bundle of Thyme, and garlic and continue to simmer on low/medium heat until shallots and garlic have fully sweat. (trying to avoid browning as much as possible). (Optional: Once ingredients have sweat and turned translucent and fragrant, briefly turn heat to high, until ingredients begin to fry. Immediately deglaze with Pernod or anise liqueur and turn heat back down to medium low and let simmer until alcohol is completely cooked off).

Next, add dill sprigs and mussels and stir until mussels are evenly coated. Add cream, season with sugar and salt (to taste; stop when not quite salty enough as mussels will incorporate saltiness as they cook). Allow cream to come up to temperature gently, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook on medium heat until every Mussell opens fully. Remove bundle of Thyme and turn heat off, adding butter and lemon juice and stir until butter is completely incorporated and sauce has become velvety and smooth.

Pour contents of pot into a large, family style bowl, garnish with remainder of scallion and a fresh squeeze of remaining ½ lemon and enjoy with crostini or fresh baguette. Optional garnish of fresh red chilis, fennel fronds, orange zest. Pair with crisp white wine, single malt Islay scotch, grapefruit soda, or craft saison beer

Stuffed Clams

Stuffed clams or stuffies are a quintessential New England treat. Especially in Rhode Island. A stuffed clam is really just bread and clams stuffed into a shell and baked. There are versions with bacon or chorizo, peppers, onions but for me it’s all about the clams.

12 cherrystone clams

1 pint chopped clams

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 small yellow onion diced

Breadcrumbs

Parsley chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika

I start by shucking the cherrystones and saving the shells. Reserve the juice and give the clams a rough chop. Drain the chopped clams, reserving that juice as well.

Sweat the garlic and onion until translucent. Add in the cherrystones and chopped clams, salt and pepper and saute quickly. No need to cook them until done as you will be baking the clams later on. Add about half the clam juice.

Here’s the tricky part. I don’t have a measurement for the breadcrumbs as it always changes based on how much liquid there is in the pan. You need the liquid to help bind everything so you can’t skip that. Also adding too much means you will need to add a lot of breadcrumbs and then your clams will be all filler and no clam. Nobody wants that. So slowly add breadcrumbs until you get a texture similar to wet sand. You’ll be able to pack the mixture into the clam shells and it will hold its shape.

Once you’ve gotten the right consistency for the clam/breadcrumb mixture add the parsley and let it cool. Clean the clam shells and scrape off any bits of the muscle left on the shell. Once the mixture is cool pack it into the shells creating a small dome. No need to make them too big or they won’t get hot in the middle before the outside gets too crispy.

Top with a sprinkling of paprika and bake at 425 ℉ for about 20-25 minutes. The outside should start to brown and get crispy and the center should be hot. I shouldn’t have to say this (I’m really saying it for myself) but let them cool some before enjoying. We’ve burned too many tastebuds in the past and it would be a shame to miss these flavors.

Baccala Cakes

Baccala is a staple for most when it comes to the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Baccala is salted dried cod. Salting is the oldest method of preservation. This process locks in nutrients and increases flavor. But cooking with it can be a challenge. Below is my favorite way to use baccala.

Baccala Cakes (Yield about 18-24 cakes)

2# baccala (cut into 3-4” pieces)

4 medium red potatoes

1 small yellow onion grated

1/2 cup parsley chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start soaking the baccala in water for 24-48 hours. Change the water every 4-6 hours. After the first 24 hours, boil a small piece and taste for salt. If the baccala is still too salty continue to soak for the next 24 hours. After the baccala has finished soaking, boil until tender and flakes apart easily. Drain and shred with a fork while still warm.

Boil the potatoes until very soft. I like to leave the skins on for color and texture. Once the potatoes are soft, drain and smash them into a rough mashed potato texture. Mix in the baccala and grated onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge until the mixture firms up.

Once the baccala mixture is firm start forming your cakes. I like to take a scoop big enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I cup my hand and press the mixture into an oval shape making sure to flatten the top and bottom. Once you’ve formed the cakes heat a pan with oil or butter (whichever you prefer). I usually use ghee for the extra nutty flavor. When the pan is hot add the cakes. Careful not overfill the pan or you won’t be able to flip them. Let them brown on medium heat until golden and they release from the pan. Flip and brown on the second side.

Serve with tartar sauce or horseradish sauce.