Moules-frites — Lille, France

Moules-frites — Lille, France

Lille, France

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Every first weekend of September, Lille's Braderie is measured by the height of the mussel shell piles outside the brasseries on the Grand-Place. The dish belongs to the whole of Flanders, French and Belgian, but Lille has made it its own festival, and the town's brasseries serve tonnes of it on the day. The mussels are cooked marinière-style — shallots, white wine, parsley, butter — until they open, and served in their cooking pot with a portion of chips, for dipping in the juices. In Lille, cream is welcome, and beer too in place of wine.

Preparation

  1. 01

    Cut the potatoes into sticks, rinse and dry them. Fry a first time for 6 minutes at 150°C (300°F), and drain.

  2. 02

    Scrub and rinse the mussels, discarding any that stay open.

  3. 03

    Soften the shallots and celery in the butter, pour in the wine, add the mussels, season with pepper, cover and cook for 5 minutes over high heat, shaking the pot, until they open. Sprinkle with parsley.

  4. 04

    Fry the chips a second time for 3 minutes at 180°C (350°F), and salt them. Serve the mussels in the pot, with the chips on the side.

Where this version sits

A single, final coordinate: Lille, France. Another version of the same dish, elsewhere, gets its own point.

Photo: Felouch Kotek — CC BY-SA 3.0

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