Mussels and Onions for blog appétit by Farid Zadi

Moules au Safran et Citron Confit

I've joined a group of mostly French bloggers who share recipes and photos of finished dishes based on a starting point of ingredients. The theme for the 4th edition is "moules et oignons" mussels and onions.

I will post photos of the dish later today or tomorrow along with a French translation.

My contribution to the current addition of  blog appétit is mussels with saffron and preserved lemons served with couscous.

Ingredients:
2 pounds (about 1 kilo) of mussels
1 kilo moules
1/2 piece of Preserved Lemon, discard pulp, rinse under cool water and julienne
confit de citron
1/2 small onion finely chopped
oignon (pas trop gros) emince
2 pinches of saffron or substitute very high quality turmeric
deux pinces de safran ou turmeric
1 tablespoon of flat leaf parsley finely chopped
persil plat hache
Olive oil
huile d'olive
Butter
beurre

Hand rolled couscous  or steamed commercial couscous

Method:

1) Dissolve saffron in 1/4 cup of water

2) In a large pot, saute onions until translucent about 10-15 minutes in a little olive oil and a tablespoon of butter

3) Add cleaned mussels, preserved lemon, and saffron water cover and cook until the shells open, do not overcook, discard unopened ones, sprinkle with parsley and stir.

Presentation:

I prefer to serve the mussels in a bowl with the broth and the couscous on a separate platter.

Another option is to moisten the couscous with a little bit of the saffron broth and arrange the mussels decoratively on top.