Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

•​​ 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) fresh live mussels (ideally Porthilly)
•​​ 50 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
•​​ 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
•​​ 1 medium leek, washed and finely sliced
•​​ 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
•​​ 300 ml (10 fl oz/11⁄4 cups) cider
•​​ 4 tablespoons Cornish clotted cream
•​​ 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
•​​ Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the mussels under cold running water and pull off and discard any wispy ‘beards’ from the shells. Before cooking, you need to make sure all the mussels are alive, so discard any that have broken or cracked shells and any open ones that don’t close when tapped on a hard surface.

Melt the butter in a very large pan with a lid over a medium heat, add the shallot, leek and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour in the cider, bring to the boil, then add the mussels. Cover and cook for 5–7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until all the mussels have opened. discard any that are still closed after cooking.

Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and divide among 6 warmed deep bowls.

Return the pan to the heat, bring the cooking liquid to the boil and bubble for 2–3 minutes to reduce.

Stir in the cream and parsley, then season the sauce and pour over the mussels.