Moroccan mussels

• Serves 4

• Preparation time:

• Cooking time:

Ingredients

1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 tbs HF Moroccan spice mix
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs white vinegar
800g chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tsp sugar
800g tinned tomatoes
2 kg spring bay mussels, rinsed and debearded
4 tbs fresh parsley, finely chopped
300g cous cous

Method

For the sauce
Select a pot that is big enough to fit your mussels and that has a tight fitting lid. Heat oil over a medium heat and gently fry onion for 3 minutes until soft and translucent.

Add the garlic and spice mix and cook for a further 1 minute until fragrant. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, vinegar and sugar. Increase the heat and cook for 10 minutes as you allow the sauce to thicken.

For the mussels
While the sauce is thickening, prepare the mussels by rinsing them under fresh water to remove salt water and grit. Also check for any de-bearding that might be required.

Add mussels to the pot, cover with lid, and cook until mussels open wide (about 4-5 minutes). Discard any that don’t open on the grounds that they may be no good.

For the cous cous
While the mussels are cooking, place cous cous in a large bowl. Bring some salted water to the boil (the water has to be double the amount of your cous cous, for example, 250 ml water for 125 g of cous cous) and add it to the cous cous. Cover and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.

To serve
Slop your mussels, chickpeas, and tomato broth into shallow bowls. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and keep the cous cous nearby to mop up the goodies.

We also recommend that you roll up your sleeves, don a bib, and keep a big bowl at hand for all the shells.

Notes