Gratinated Mussels With Sautéed Tomato, Onion & Green Pepper Stuffing & Alioli Sauce
'Mejillones gratinados rellenos de sofrito verduritas y salsa alioli'
Mussels stuffed with something delicious, topped with béchamel sauce, coated with breadcrumbs and fried (or cooked in the oven) are frequently offered in tapas bars. This recipe comes from a small bar in the city of Almería, in the province of the same name, rich in the production of vegetables as well as Mediterranean seafood. Here the chef had decided to do something different: to stuff mussels with a rich vegetable sofrito that pairs to perfection with an alioli.
For the purist, alioli, also known in Spanish as 'ajoaceite' is made with garlic, olive oil and nothing else. This is a strong Mediterranean sauce, difficult to emulsify and maintain the emulsion intact. For these reasons, this recipe for stuffed mussels has been prepared with a simpler mayonnaise sauce with garlic. As we are using raw garlic cloves, I prefer to reduce their strength before they are added. One way to do this is to blanch the garlic in boiling water and the other is to microwave the garlic in their skins for just a few seconds.
For the purist, alioli, also known in Spanish as 'ajoaceite' is made with garlic, olive oil and nothing else. This is a strong Mediterranean sauce, difficult to emulsify and maintain the emulsion intact. For these reasons, this recipe for stuffed mussels has been prepared with a simpler mayonnaise sauce with garlic. As we are using raw garlic cloves, I prefer to reduce their strength before they are added. One way to do this is to blanch the garlic in boiling water and the other is to microwave the garlic in their skins for just a few seconds.
Serves
6
Ingredients
- 1kg fresh mussels, cleaned
- a few handfuls of grated Manchego ‘semicurado’ cheese, for topping
- For The Sofrito
- 3 tbsp Spanish olive oil
- 1 white onion, finely chopped
- 1 large green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
- 500g ripe tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
- sea salt, to taste
- For The Alioli Sauce
- 2 medium egg yolks
- 2 garlic cloves
- 150ml sunflower oil
- 50ml Spanish olive oil
- a pinch of sea salt
- freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
Method
Steam the mussels in a large saucepan or stockpot. When open, remove from the pan and set aside to cool. When cool, keep each mussel sitting inside one half of the shell, discarding the other shell half. Place in one layer in an ovenproof dish.
To prepare the sofrito, heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until transparent. Add the peppers and sauté for a few minutes more before adding the tomatoes. Season with salt, then continue to cook, stirring frequently, until small oil bubbles appear on the surface.
To prepare the alioli sauce, place the egg yolks, a pinch of salt, the garlic and both oils in the tall container of a handheld blender. Insert the blender, and without moving from the bottom, start blending very fast until all the ingredients have emulsified almost completely. You can then move it up the container to emulsify any oil left at the top. Adjust the seasoning and add the lemon juice to taste. It will take about 30 seconds.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/Gas 4.
Place a teaspoon of sofrito on top of each mussel, carefully spoon the alioli on top and sprinkle some cheese over to finish. Cook in the preheated oven just for a few minutes until they take on some colour.
Serve while hot.
