Smothered in a garlicky sauce and then coated in breadcrumbs, these mussels are wonderful hot from the deep-fryer.

Ingredients

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 slices ham, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• about 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• about 2 cups breadcrumbs, fresh or dried

Mussels

• 30 baby mussels, well scrubbed with beards removed
• 1/2 cup white wine
• a bayleaf
• a few stalks parsley
• a few peppercorns

Method

Sauce

1. Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the ham, paprika and the finely chopped spring onion and cook over a moderate heat for about 3 minutes until the mixture is quite fragrant.
2. Add the flour and the tomato paste and cook a further 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the flour is well cooked.
3. Pour in the milk and cook the sauc for about 3 minutes until it has thickened. Stir in the garlic and parsley, season with salt and pepper and cook a further minute. Cool.

Mussels

1. Discard any mussels that are open. Heat the wine, bayleaf, parskey stalks and peppercorns in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the mussels and cover.
2. Boil rapidly for about 3 minutes or until the mussels have opened. Discard any that are still closed. Remove the empty half shells and set the mussels in the half shell aside.
3. Take a teaspoonful of the sauce and spread over each mussel, levelling it out.
4. Dip the coated side in the fresh breadcrumbs. Dip the whole mussel in the egg wash and again in the breadcrumbs to coat. Heat the oil to 180 degrees Celsius and deep fry until golden. Serve with forks and serviettes.

Cooks Tips

- Egg wash can be made solely of beaten egg with salt, or of beaten-together egg and milk. Either way you will need about 1 cup. I tend to use 2 eggs and make the rest up with milk.