White Wine Mussels with Twice-Fried Fries

What you need

• 800 g (1 3/4 lb) floury potatoes, such as Bintje or russet
• 2 l (8 cups) vegetable oil, or beef dripping, for frying
• 1 kg (2 lb) mussels, live
• 30 g (2 tbsp) butter, divided
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) dry white wine
• 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• mayonnaise, for serving

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks about 1 cm (1/2 in) thick. Rinse in cold water, then dry them very well on a clean towel.

2. 2

   Scrub the mussels under cold running water and pull off the beards. Throw away any with cracked shells or that stay open after a sharp tap.

3. 3

   Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot, no more than half full, to 160 °C (325 °F).

4. 4

   Fry the potatoes in batches until soft but still pale, 5-6 min. Drain on a rack and let them cool for at least 15 min.

5. 5

   Raise the oil temperature to 180 °C (350 °F).

6. 6

   Melt half the butter in a large lidded pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, 2-3 min.

7. 7

   Turn the heat to high, tip in the mussels, pour over the wine and cover. Steam, shaking the pot now and then, until the shells have opened, 4-6 min.

8. 8

   While the mussels steam, fry the potatoes a second time in batches until crisp and deep golden, 2-3 min. Drain and toss with salt.

9. 9

   Discard any mussels that stayed shut. Add the remaining butter, the parsley and a grind of black pepper and shake the pot until the butter melts into the juices.

10. 10

    Serve the mussels in deep bowls with their cooking juices, the fries alongside and mayonnaise for dipping.

Imported from casualepicure.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.