Moules frites is a timeless classic: fresh mussels, crispy chips – and served with a fresh green salad à la Cardenau.
Francis and Victor Cardenau use Danish line-caught mussels, fresh vegetables and a generous dash of rosé and butter – simple ingredients that together strike just the right balance in flavour.
Ingredients
2 kg fresh Danish line-caught blue mussels
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
1 stalk of celery
100 g celeriac
1 sprig of thyme
1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – in the video, we use CARDENAU
100 g butter
4 dl rosé wine – in the video, we use CARDENAU
Freshly ground pepper
Champagne-Ardenne vinegar for seasoning – the video uses CARDENAU vinegar
Fries
1 kg firm potatoes, preferably Agria
coarse salt for the cooking water
neutral oil for deep-frying
Green salad
1 head crisp lettuce (e.g. romaine or butterhead lettuce)
1 bitter lettuce (e.g. red Christmas lettuce)
1 tbsp Merlot red wine vinegar – in the video, CARDENAU is used
1 tbsp Champagne-Ardenne white wine vinegar – in the video, CARDENAU is used
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – the video uses CARDENAU
1 tsp Dijon mustard – the video uses CARDENAU
salt and pepper
Method
Fries - start the day before
Cut the potatoes into sticks and place them in cold, salted water overnight.
Boil the potato sticks in fresh, lightly salted water until they are almost tender. Allow them to steam dry completely.
Heat the oil to 140 degrees and fry the potatoes for 3-5 minutes until they have formed a crust without taking on colour. Remove them and allow them to cool.
Just before serving: deep-fry the potatoes again at 180 degrees until they are golden and crispy. Taste them before adding salt – they have already absorbed salt from both soaking and blanching.
Mussels
Rinse the mussels thoroughly under cold water. Discard any that are open and do not close when tapped lightly, as well as any broken mussels. Remove any beards.
Cut the carrots, celeriac and celery into small cubes, finely chop the shallots and garlic. Finely chop the parsley and set aside for later.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan. Sauté the shallots, garlic, carrots, celery, celeriac, thyme and parsley stalks over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, without letting the vegetables brown.
Add the rosé and let it boil for a few minutes.
Add the mussels to the pan along with a generous grinding of pepper. Cover and steam for 4-5 minutes until the mussels open. You can do this in several batches.
Remove the mussels and reduce the stock slightly to make it more concentrated and creamy. Season with Champagne-Ardenne vinegar, salt, pepper and a little extra butter if desired.
Return the mussels to the stock, add the chopped parsley and gently stir everything together.
Green salad
Rinse and spin dry both the crispy lettuce and bitter lettuce, then tear them into bite-sized pieces.
Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil to make a glossy vinaigrette and season to taste.
Toss the salad in the dressing just before serving.
