Piquant & sweet mussels in a wine & garlic cream sauce. These little black jewels are delicious and are well paired with my crispy pan potatoes.

This year we celebrated our anniversary at one of our favourite restaurants, Bistro Boulevard. We love this cosy little nook in the Sydney Northern Beach suburb of Avalon because it serves non fussy French Bistro food. This is not the place for you if you are looking for new food trends– what you get here are the tried and true French classics, executed simply & superbly. The whole experience transports us to France, right down to the service which, whilst attentive and helpful, remains somewhat at arms length, i.e., the staff are not part of your evening but do take care in their service. In my opinion the only improvement to the ambience would be the addition of French-style music – although it is quite lively so the music is really not a focus…..still I am a French tragic! 🙂

Yet again we were not disappointed. For entree I choose the Prawn bisque, served with baguette toast, rouille & cheese (one of the specials) and Aron’s chose the Pate which was served with cornichons,caper berries & toasted baguette.

Prawn Bisque

Pate

Steak & Frites

Duck Confit….I can’t describe how delicious this was…

Even though ‘Moules’ were not not on the menu on the night we were at Bistro Boulevard, they are classic French bistro fare and I had only just made them the previous week when a dear friend was visiting. I love mussels and serving them with a family favourite, crispy pan potatoes, rather than chips with a simple green dressed salad is always a winner!

Bon Appetit & happy cooking,

Kathryn x

Mussels with garlic, chilli & crème fraiche (serves 4 – halve for entree)

Ingredients

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 eschallots, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 small red chilli (depending on taste), finely chopped
180ml dry white wine
2 kg cleaned black mussels
150g crème fraiche
1-2 tbsp of parsley, finely chopped

Variety: Swap out chilli for saffron , or add fennel…play around with the flavours you like.

Method

• In a heavy based saucepan over a low head add the butter, oil, eschallots & garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft & translucent but not coloured.
• Add the wine and increase heat until it comes to boil.
• Add the mussels & put the lid on and cook for approx 4 min, shaking occasionally
• Remove from heat and check that all mussels have opened – discard any which have not opened.
• Stir through the crème fraiche and the chopped parsley.

Serve with Kathryninthekitchen Crispy pan potatoes, a simple dressed green salad and crusty bread.