Mussels always take me back to that summer day in Norway, when my husband and I ate lunch on the waterfront in Oslo, on a patio where the chairs were draped with blankets to shield diners from the marine breeze. While I love the classic French meal of mussels steamed in a bath of white wine, shallots, cream, butter, and parsley, it’s fun to switch things up, and that’s where today’s recipe comes in.
These broiled mussels with dill butter are an easy appetizer–and a crowd pleaser. With plenty of butter and dill, they’re inspired by flavors typical in Scandinavian cooking. You’ll find the recipe in my book The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners: 75 Recipes to Kick-Start Your Healthy Lifestyle, but I wanted to share it with everyone here, as well. While I can’t transport you to Oslo, I hope you enjoy this taste of the sea.
As I wrote in the book,
Blåskjell–I love the Norwegian name for mussels. If you listen to it being pronounced, “BLO-shell,” you can almost make out the literal translation: “blue shells.” Salty and tender, tasting of the sea, mussels remind me of an unforgettable meal years ago in Oslo at the peak of summer. On my first trip to Norway, my husband and I ate them on the waterfront as the heat of the summer sun competed with the marine breeze.
And now for the recipe.
Broiled Mussels with Dill Butter
Ingredients
- 2 pounds mussels scrubbed and debeareded
- 1 tablespoon salted butter at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon garlic oil (see notes)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler.
- Place a steamer basket into a large pot and add enough water to come up to the bottom of the basket. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Nestle the mussels in the basket and cover the pot. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes until the mussels open and are just barely cooked through and still tender. Remove from the heat.
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic oil, dill, and lemon juuice. Using a fork, mash everything to combine.
- Discard any mussels that have not opened. Break the mussel shells apart and place the half containing the mussel on a large baking sheet. Distribute the dill butter among the mussels. This is messy work and will likely require your hands; don't get too fussy about perfection.
- Broil for about 2 minutes until the butter melts and the mussels are warmed through.
Notes
If you love mussels, you might also enjoy my recipe for Nordic-inspired steamed mussels with leeks and root vegetables. Click here for the recipe.
Find even more seafood recipes in my book The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners!
Recipe and quote excerpted from The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners, by Daytona Strong, published by Rockridge Press. Copyright © 2020 by Callisto Media. All rights reserved.
Post includes affiliate links; read more by clicking here.