Book of Days Tales

Today is National Day in Belgium, marking the anniversary of the investiture of Leopold I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Victoria and Albert’s lot) as the first king of the Belgians in 1831. According to the Treaty of Vienna that carved up mainland Europe following the Napoleonic Wars, the territory of Belgium was included in a United Netherlands, but, following a revolutionary war in 1830, Belgium declared independence and sought to become a constitutional and popular monarchy. A popular monarch governs a people not a territory.  Belgium is roughly divided between the Dutch speaking Flemish and French speaking Walloons, and they have been able to co-exist in one nation for almost 200 years. 

In my experience, Belgians are quirky.  For example, they insist that chipped and fried potatoes are their invention (despite being called French fries in the U.S.). Regardless of this dubious claim, they do love them and eat them with just about anything – including mayonnaise. The national dish is moules frites or mosselen-friet, that is, mussels with fries. 

Ingredients

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup finely sliced shallots

5 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic

1 cup white wine

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 lbs mussels, thoroughly cleaned and beards removed

½ cup crème fraîche

4 tablespooons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons minced chives

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

fries/frites/friet

Instructions

 In a large Dutch oven or straight-sided 12-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the mussels, cover and steam until open, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a large bowl.

Add the crème fraîche, parsley, butter, chives and mustard to the remaining cooking liquid and bring just to a boil while stirring to combine.

Either return the mussels to the cooking pan (traditional) or pour the sauce over them in their bowl  and serve with abundant fries on the side.