In The Kitchen: Mussels in Cider Cream Sauce

I love mussels - they are so light and full of flavour! If there are mussels on the menu in a restaurant, it is likely they will be ordered. But do you know how easy and quick it is to cook mussels at home? And did I mention - very inexpensive? I show you one of my favourite mussels recipes where they are cooked in a cider and cream sauce - yum!

Some people are scared of cooking seafood - but mussels are easy to suss. When you buy live mussels, you have to de-beard them (you know the little brown strings coming out of them? Basically pull those out) and discard any mussels that are open - this mens they're not the best to eat. Just remember - closed live mussels are good; opened live mussels are bad!

What you will need (serves 2 as a starter):
- a bag of live mussels (available from Waitrose, Tesco and most big supermarkets)
- 1 small red onion (chopped)
- 2 lemons
- 500ml of good dry apple cider
- 200ml vegetable stock
- 150ml single cream
- handful fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- sourdough bread to mop up the delicious sauce!

 In a large pot cook the chopped onion until soft - then pour in the stock and cider. Bring the mixture to boil, and squeeze out the juice of 1 lemon, and I also throw in the lemon halves to add more flavour whilst the stock boils.
Boil the mixture for 5-7 minutes to get all the flavours of the lemon, and boil out the alcohol. I know at this stage the liquid looks like something you end up with after washing dirty dishes - but trust me, it tastes delicious and once the mussels and cream is added it will look deliciously velvety!

Lower the heat and bring the mixture to simmer - then add in mussels and cover the pot with a lid. You will need to cook the mussels for about 4 minutes - once they are cooked, they will start opening up.

Once most of the mussels are opened, add in the cream and stir the sauce. Leave for another 2 minutes to let the cream smoothen your cider sauce and wrap itself around the mussels.

Mix in fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste, and plate up immediately - these hot mussels are delicious to snack on after a cold seaside walk or as a scrumptious lunch when you want something different. The cream cider sauce is velvety and zingy which compliments earthy and smooth mussels - and nothing beats mopping up the sauce with freshly baked sourdough bread!