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This is a dish which combines the extreme flavours of cream (sweet) and lemon (tart) to bring out the best in the flavour of scottish mussels. Most commonly served as a snack or party dish, they can also be served with crusty bread to make a more substantial main course dish.

Creamy lemon Mussels

Ingredients:
2 pints mussels
1 oz butter
1 small onion
juice from 2 freshly squeezed lemons
grated rind of one fo the lemons
knob of butter
1/2 pint double cream
3 tablespoons chopped parsley (or other suitbale garnish)

Method:
Wash and scrub the mussels thoroughly under cold running water, discarding the bad ones (broken shells or those that don't close when tapped). Be ULTRA careful with shellfish-it is better to be safe than extremely sorry!! Remove the beards (byssal threads) if needed.

Melt the butter in a pan and cook the onions gently until transparent. Add the lemon juice to this mixture along with the grated rind and finally the mussels. Cover the pan and cook this quickly, shaking the pan until the mussels have FULLY opened.

Strain the mussels, keeping the mixture, placing them in a warmed serving dish. Keep the mussels warm again discarding any of the mussels that you are unsure about (e.g. any which have not opened).

Return the liquid to a pan, add a further knob of butter, then add the cream and cook for approx. five minutes until the mixture has thickened.
Pour this mixture over the mussels.

This dish should serve 4

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As with all recipes which involve cooking and baking a sensible approach must be taken especially when dealing with warm or hot (temperature) ingredients. If you are unable to take due care, please do not attempt to make any of these recipes. All recipes are tried at your own risk.

For US to UK equivalents for food weights and measurements see this rough guide