Ingredients
- 40-50 mussels with shells
- 5 cups of hot water
- 2 cups of rice
- 6 medium-sized onions
- 2 tbsp of pine nuts
- 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
- 8 tbsp of olive oil
- 4 cups of hot water
- 1 tsp of allspice
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1/4 bunch of dill
- 1 tsp of salt
- 2 tbsp of currants (optional)
- 1 tsp of tomato paste (optional)
Preparation and Cooking
- First, clean the mussels by brushing, and open them with a sharp knife without breaking the connection to the pointed side and without separating the shells. In this step, remove the hairy parts inside. Then let the shells soak in a bowl of water for 15 minutes first and drain the water, wash them, and set them aside.
- Soak the rice in lukewarm salted water for 20 minutes, and then drain and rinse well with water.
- In a suitable pan, add olive oil and sauté finely chopped onions. Then add the rice and roast it gently for 5 min. Finally, include the pine nuts, the currants, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, allspice and hot water and stir them all and let it cook for another 10 min. Finely chopped dill should be added after filling mix is pre-cooked and let it rest for 20 min.
- Fill each mussel with about a tbsp of mixture prepared above and close the shell by aligning the two halves. Then arrange the mussels in a cooking pot with the wide side down. Drizzle the mussles with olive oil, add 3 cups of hot water, cover with a heat resistant plate and closed the lid.
- Cook the mussles at 100-120oC for about 20 min. Arrange the cooked stuffed mussels on a serving plate and with the lemon juice. They can also be served with a prawn casserole or calamari as a side.
Hints and Comments
- Fresh and live mussels will close when touched. Do not use mussels that are not closed and have unplesant smells.
- The onions can be grated to obtain a more aromatic taste. In addition, when filling the mussels the rice should be cold.
