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Coconut Chipotle & Black Bean Mussels

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Introduction

With the cold winter nights drawing and me still dreaming about eating spicy seafood by the beach last summer, I decided I wanted (or more so, my stomach demanded) a dish that would both warm me through, fill me up and take me back to those summer days. 30 minutes (and some serious tinkering) later I created this recipe. It was a heady mix of spicy heat, creamy coconut, filling beans and mussely goodness (not sure that's a word but I am going with it).

The balance between the chipotle paste, coconut cream and lime produces a real satisfying kick to the senses with the black beans and veggies providing enough substance that bread simply isn't in my opinion required with this dish.

The creamy sauce with the beans, herbs and veggies all sit beautifully in the mussel shells and are ideal for slurping down. This is not a meal to eat in any form of white clothing!!!

Mussels cook really quickly, so only need 3 - minutes to cook, so just add them in at the end once you have made the sauce and veggies. Its important with mussels that you only cook live ones so make sure you tap each one on its end if open and watch it close (if it doesn't close i wouldn't eat it).

The recipe will feed 2 - 3 people with no accompaniments; however, if making for 4 I would personally add in another 250g mussels. Its a really simple dish to make and i hope you enjoy making it as much as I do...

Difficulty

Advanced

Serves

3

Ingredients

  • 1kg x De-bearded and cleaned mussels
  • 1 x Orange Bell pepper (diced into 1 cm cubes)
  • 3 x Garlic Cloves (finely sliced)
  • 1 x Medium onion (finely sliced)
  • 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
  • 1 x 400g tin of black beans
  • 1 x Tablespoon of Chipotle Paste
  • 1 x Small red chilli (finely sliced)
  • 2 x Spring onions (finely sliced)
  • 1 x Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 x Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 x Small handful of fresh coriander
  • 1 x Juice of a lime
  • Oil for frying

Method

  • Fry in a deep pan with a lid, the onions with the oil at a medium heat for 5 - 8 minutes until translucent but not browned. (Adding a pinch of salat will speed up the cooking time). Then add in the orange bell pepper and and garlic and fry for another 3 - 4 minutes.
  • Add in the chipotle paste and soy sauce and fry for 30 seconds stirring continuously. Loosen with a dash of water. Add in the black beans and fry for another minute.
  • Stir in the coconut milk and them leave to simmer on a medium low heat for 10 minutes stirring regularly. Then add in the Worcestershire sauce and half of the lime juice and half of the red chilli and cook for another 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the mussels making sure they are all coated and then apply the lid and leave to steam for 3 - 4 minutes. Check the mussels have opened and give them a good mix around adding in half the fresh coriander.
  • Serve either in bowls (or in the pan) and top with the remaining coriander, lime, spring onion and chilli.

Video Tutorial