Mussel and potato salad with capers and thyme
- Published: 22 May 23
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
A beautiful summer salad just begging to be eaten in the garden with a glass of white wine. Saline-sweet mussels, sharp capers and a kick of chilli lend bags of flavour to the potatoes.
For a spicy take on moules mariniere, try mussels with ‘nduja, fennel and oregano.
Ingredients
- 500g (about 4 medium) waxy potatoes
- 1kg live mussels, beards removed and scrubbed
- 100ml dry white wine
- 40ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- ½ tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 anchovy fillet, drained and finely chopped
Method
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and put another large saucepan over a high heat. Add the potatoes to the water and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until they can be easily pierced with a knife. Meanwhile, pick through the mussels and discard any that don’t close when firmly tapped. Add the wine to the hot saucepan, immediately followed by the mussels, then cover and cook for 4-5 minutes until they all open.
- Drain the mussels in a colander set over a bowl to catch the liquid, then return the liquid to the pan and simmer until you have around 2 tbsp left. Set aside. Once cool enough to handle, pick the mussels from their shells (avoiding any that haven’t opened).
- Pour the oil into a small saucepan over a medium heat and add the garlic and chilli. Cook for a minute until soft, then pour the contents of the pan into a bowl. Add the vinegar, shallot, thyme, capers and anchovy, stir, then add the mussels and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Drain the potatoes and run them under cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin off – it should just rub away in your hands. Slice the potatoes into 1cm discs, then gently toss with the marinated mussels. Keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours or serve immediately with an extra drizzle of oil.
- Recipe from June 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 384kcals
- Fat
- 15g (2.9g saturated)
- Protein
- 33g
- Carbohydrates
- 25g (1.9g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.5g
- Salt
- 2.1g
delicious. tips
Be a better cook: Be sure to use waxy salad potatoes rather than floury ones for this dish, as they’ll retain their texture and absorb the dressing without falling apart.
Easy swaps: You can use ready-cooked mussels for this dish too – you need about 150g picked mussel meat.
This dish is lovely served straight away, but making it in advance and letting the flavours get to know each other for a few hours in the fridge then serving it at room temperature is even better.
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