Mighty mussel secrets

And decadently delicous, utterly addictive brownies

MORE-ISH MUSSELS

MUSSELS. One of the most frequently wrecked items on any restaurant menu, or anywhere you encounter the poor maltreated bivalves. There are two key rules to adhere to for perfect, silken mussels.

First, never touch those terrible, crumbly frozen ones sold on the half-shell. Many good fishmongers will order the superb fresh mussels greenly farmed on our West Coast for you if they don't have them in stock.

The second rule is: never overcook. Scrub shells cleanish, not getting hysterical about the odd seaweedy bits left on, then boil in copious water, removing individually the nanosecond each opens.

Ignore the pervasive myth that any unopened mussels should be discarded. These are entirely edible, I promise. I've been eating them for years (do some googling on the topic if you don't believe me). To open these stubborn guys, insert a thin bladed knife and cut through the small "foot" which attaches the mussel body to the shell.

Submerge and briefly heat in the sauce of your choice. A good place to start is the splendid sauce below.

LEMON-CHILLI-GINGER-CREAM SAUCE:

2 tablespoons olive oil/2 tablespoons slivered ginger/½ teaspoon chopped garlic/1 litre cream/400ml sweet or semi-sweet white wine/1 heaped teaspoon fresh chilli/500ml water/½ teaspoon turmeric/1 teaspoon lemon rind/salt and sugar to taste.

HOW: Fry the garlic, chilli, lemon rind and ginger in oil until softening. Add the wine, bring to the boil and simmer until the alcohol flavour is mellowed (about 10 minutes). Add the cream, turmeric and water and simmer for 10 minutes more with the lid off. Add salt and sugar, bit by bit, balancing as you go. Add more lemon and chilli if necessary. The sauce should be sweet, sour, fiery and fragrant in equal measures. Add the mussels, simmer until just hot and serve with Thai rice or wodges of warm crusty dipping bread.

SWEET TALKING:

YES, I know only two weeks have passed since I last rabbited on about brownies, and yes, maybe I have a brownie problem, but when I stumbled across this recipe in a much loved foodblog (www.smittenkitchen.com), it seemed selfish not to pass it on. I am totally addicted to these (slightly adapted). They are rich, and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside is compulsory.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOC CHIP BROWNIES:

BASE: 250g soft butter/1 cup light brown sugar/1 cup unsweetened peanut butter/3 eggs/2 teaspoons vanilla extract/1¾ cups flour/1 cup dark chocolate chips or broken up dark chocolate/½ teaspoon salt (or more).

HOW: Heat oven to 180C. Beat butter and sugar till creamy. Add peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, flour and salt. Mix in chocolate chips. Spread into lined brownie tin and bake 30 minutes or until set but still gungy in the centre. Leave to cool.

GANACHE TOP: 1 cup dark choc chips/½ cup cream/1 tablespoon butter. Heat cream and butter, remove from heat and melt in choc buttons, mixing until smooth. Spread over the cooled brownies. Excellent for three days.

FOOD HEROES

THE Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein has some of the most fantastic comestibles about. The one item you should not leave off the shopping list when you're there is Pepe Charlotte goat's cheese. Pepe himself is so splendidly, deliciously, madly in love with what he does, that it can't help but rub off on the cheeses. His cheeses, he admits, are his babies. He talks to them, he hangs out with them, he plays the right music for them. Really. And clearly this is what all cheeses need. These are obscenely good cheeses, and at a reasonable price too. Neighbourgoods Market, 73 Juta Street, Braamfontein. Saturdays 9am to 3pm.