Mejillones Fritos
(Spanish batter-fried mussels)
Image by fotoosvanrobin
Mussels are an affordable and delicious addition to any spread of Spanish tapas. Here is a great recipe for batter-fried mussels. Serve meijillones fritos with ice cold beer or a dry white wine.
Serves 4 as an appetizer
Ingredients
- Mussels, cleaned and debearded -- 2 pounds
- Water -- 2 cups
- Salt -- 1 teaspoon
- Flour -- 1 1/2 cups
- Baking powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
- White wine -- 2 cups
- Olive oil -- 1 tablespoon
- Salt -- 1 teaspoon
- Oil -- for deep frying
Method
- Add the water and salt to a large skillet with a lid. Place the mussels into the skillet in a single layer and bring to a boil over medium-high flame. Cover tightly with the lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the mussels have steamed open.
- Remove the mussels from the pan, and when they are cool enough to handle remove the cooked mussels from their shells. Discard any mussels that failed to open.
- Mix the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Stir in enough of the wine to make a fairly thin batter. Stir in the oil and salt.
- Heat the oil in a deep fryer or 1-inch deep in a skillet to 375 degrees F. Working in batches, dip the mussels in the batter and let the excess drip off. Fry them in the hot oil, flipping them to brown them on both sides. Drain on paper towels and repeat with the remaining mussels.
- Serve immediately with alioli (aioli) and wedges of lemon.
Mejillones Fritos Variations
- Batter: Use beer instead of wine, or incorporate the steaming liquid, straining it first.
- Breadcrumb coating: Instead of coating the mussels in batter, simply dip them in some beaten egg and then into seasoned breadcrumbs to coat. Set them aside for a few minutes to let the coating set and then fry them as directed.
