Thomasina Miers’ recipe for saffron mussels with tarragon garlic bread - MW

Avocado: a smart ingredient for many years but incredibly delicious and versatile. The time has come to honor its virtues - especially on impostable impostors.

Try buying butter locally when your purchases allow it, then bake it in a loaf full of tarragon, parsley and garlic flavors - perfect for cleaning saffron mussel juice.

Saffron mussels with a tarragon garlic baguette
Prep 40 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4

1 splash olive oil
3 shallots or 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
250ml Pernod or a dry, rich white wine
2 big pinches saffron
2kg mussels, scrubbed and beards removed, dead ones discarded
3 heaped tbsp creme fraiche

For the baguette
120g softened butter, plus 50g for the mussels
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Salt and black pepper
1 bunch each tarragon and parsley, finely chopped
1 large baguette, split lengthways and across the middle

Heat the oven to 180 ° C (fan 160 ° C) / gas 4 and line a baking sheet with a reusable silicone pad, parchment paper or aluminum foil. Start with the baguette: mix the butter and garlic in a bowl and season. Stir in half of the herbs and spread over the bread slices. Sandwich set, wrap in aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes. Once golden, turn off the oven but leave the bread inside.

In the meantime, continue with the boys. Melt the rest of the butter in a large deep pan with which you have a lid. Add the oil and the shallots and cook over medium heat for eight to 10 minutes, until the chives are translucent. Lower the heat to medium-high, add the sprigs of alcohol and saffron and bring to a boil. Boil for a few minutes while the liquid becomes fragrant, then add the mussels to the pan.

Shake the pan several times, cover and cook for three to four minutes or until most of the boys are open. Sprinkle with the rest of the herbs and the crème fraîche, stir, then taste the sauce: season if necessary.

Move to a hot bowl, remove the open mussels and serve with crisp garlic bread slices.

And for the rest of the week
Use any remaining precious bread to spice up a soup of spring vegetables or French onions, like crispy bread or in its base. Earn double the tarragon butter: it will transform a roast chicken and many other things.

MW