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Fennel Mussels with Piquillo Rouille
© Cedric Angeles

Fennel Mussels with Piquillo Rouille

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  • ACTIVE: 45 MIN
  • TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
  • SERVINGS: 10
  • HEALTHY
  • STAFF-FAVORITE

Before Chris Kronner makes this dish, he forages mussels from the nearby coast. "You have to climb down a 75-foot rock face on a rickety ladder; it's intense," he says.

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Rouille

  1. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fish stock or bottled clam broth
  2. Large pinch of saffron threads
  3. One 1/4-inch-thick slice of peasant bread, crust removed
  4. 1 large egg yolk
  5. 1 jarred piquillo pepper, chopped
  6. 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  7. 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  8. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  9. Cayenne pepper
  10. Salt

Mussels

  1. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  2. 2 heads of fennel, cored and diced, plus 1/4 cup chopped fronds
  3. 1 medium onion, diced
  4. 4 garlic cloves, minced
  5. 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  6. 1/2 cup Pernod or absinthe
  7. 1 1/4 cups fish stock or bottled clam broth
  8. 4 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  9. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  10. 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  11. Salt
  1. PREPARE THE MUSSELS In a microwave*#150;safe bowl, heat 2 tablespoons of the fish stock at high power. Crumble in the saffron and let cool. In a large bowl, soften the bread in the remaining 1/4 cup of fish stock.
  2. In a food processor, puree the soaked bread, egg yolk, piquillo, garlic and lemon juice until smooth. With the machine on, slowly pour in 1/4 cup of the oil and the saffron fish stock. Slowly pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Season with cayenne and salt.
  3. In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the diced fennel, onion and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, 7 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the Pernod and boil over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the fish stock and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook, shaking the pot, until they open, 5 minutes. Pile the mussels in a bowl; discard any that don't open. Stir the butter into the broth, add the fennel fronds and parsley; season with salt. Pour the broth over the mussels and serve with the rouille.
Serve With Grilled, buttered bread.

Suggested Pairing

Andrew Mariani serves a crisp California Chardonnay with the mussels and spicy rouille because the dish plays up the wine's toasty, smoky flavors.