Marlene Parrish - What Einstein Told His Cook 2

In the bottom-culture method used in Maine, wild, inch-long baby blue mussels are dredged from selected natural locations and sown by being scattered thinly onto leased beds where, not having to compete for food in the sea-floor jungle, they will grow to two to three inches in 18 to 24 months. In the wild, it might take them 7 to 8 years to reach that size. (If successful at evading ducks, crabs, starfish, and humans, mussels will live for 12 to 13 years, with some growing as old as 50.) Pampered and plump, cultivated mussels in the shell will be at least 25 percent meat by weight, whereas wild ones rarely exceed 15 percent.

Anchored as they are, mussels must depend for food on whatever the ocean currents bring them. Like clams and oysters, they feed by constantly taking in water and filtering out particles of plankton. A typical two-inch-long blue mussel may process 10 to 15 gallons of water per day. Unfortunately, its filtering system can also trap bacteria and other toxic microorganisms. That’s why mussels from polluted waters are so dangerous; bacteria can pile up in a mussel like dirt in a vacuum-cleaner bag. Cultivated mussels are raised in carefully monitored waters.

There are seventeen known species of edible mussels in the world. The one that you’ll see most often is the Atlantic blue mussel (it’s actually blue-black), Mytilus edulis , which is raised mostly in the waters off Maine and Prince Edward Island, Canada. A similar species, Mytilus troesselus , is grown in the state of Washington. But from May through July, the blue mussels are likely to be devoting all their energies to spawning, which makes them weak and flabby and not good to eat.

Fortunately for mytilophiles, the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis , which is being cultivated on the West Coast, spawns in January and February, so it’s good eatin’ all summer. It is mild, sweet, plump, and big, ranging up to seven inches long and up to 60 percent meat at its peak.

Another kind of cultured mussel becoming more available in the United States is the greenshell, Perna canaliculus from New Zealand and Perna viridisis from Southeast Asia. The genus Perna has only one muscle, the adductor muscle, holding its shells together, while the genus Mytilus has two.

The greenshells, which measure three or four inches long, are edged with a startling emerald-green color, but the meat is the usual cream or orange color. (Male mussels are usually cream-colored; female mussels are more likely to be orange.) Because greenshell mussels are shipped frozen, you can find them year-round.

Even the blue mussels from Maine are now available year-round, because mussel beds in slightly different locations spawn at slightly different times, and the clever farmers can select the nonspawners for harvesting throughout the summer. You may now eat mussels in all months except those that have q ’s in their names.

Hot Wok Mussels

It doesn’t get much easier than this. Chuck the mussels into a hot wok and shovel them around until they open and plump in their own juices. Period. They are perfect when dipped into a velvety sauce such as Smoky Garlic Mayonnaise. Serve these mussels as an appetizer or light supper, with crusty peasant bread for sopping up the flavorful juices.

2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and beards removed

Kosher or coarse sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 or 2 lemons, halved

Smoky Garlic Mayonnaise (chapter 9)

1.Heat a large wok over high heat for about 2 minutes, or until very hot. Test the heat by flicking a few drops of water into the wok. If the drops bead and dance across the surface, the pan is ready.

2.Discard any mussels that do not close when tapped. Add the remaining mussels to the hot wok all at once. Using a wok shovel or a large wooden or stainless-steel spoon, toss and turn the mussels for 4 or 5 minutes, or until they open and release their juices. Shovel and mix vigorously, so that all the mussels are exposed to the same amount of time on the bottom of the pile. The more noise you make with the shells clattering against the metal, the better. That appetizing sound is dear to the heart of every shellfish lover.

3.When all the mussels have opened and plumped—discard any that failed to open—sprinkle them with salt and pepper and divide them and their juices between 2 large bowls or 4 smaller bowls. Tuck a lemon half into each bowl, so that each person can squeeze juice over the mussels to taste. Spoon Smoky Garlic Mayonnaise into ramekins for dipping.

MAKES 4 APPETIZER SERVINGS OR 2 MAIN-COURSE SERVINGS

WELL, SHAVE ME WITH A CLAM!

Are razor clams good to eat?

And why are they called that?

Yes, they’re quite good to eat, breaded and fried, or made into fritters. They’re harder to find here in the States than in many European countries.

They didn’t get their name because their shells are sharp (which they are), but because the shells are shaped like an old-fashioned, curved-handled straight razor: two long, curved shells hinged together along the outer curve and with open ends through which the clam can poke out and do everything clams need to do.

Folklore has it that Native American men used to shave with the sharpened shells of a different species of clam, the quahog ( Mercenaria mercenaria ). The smooth, pearly lining (the nacre ) of these clamshells often has beautiful purple patches, which were carved into tubular beads and used as wampum (money) in trade with Dutch and English settlers.

(The information in the preceding paragraph has nothing to do with razor clams and I provide it at no additional charge.)

In the United States, the common East Coast razor clam ( Ensis directus ) can be found up to 10 inches long. The Pacific Coast razor clam ( Siliqua patula ) is shorter and stubbier. Both kinds spend their lives in the sand or sandy mud around the low-tide zone of shallow bays, standing vertically with their foot pointing downward and their—well, other end (they have no head) pointing upward. Both ends protrude from the open-ended, tubular shell, so razor clams don’t keep very well and must be cooked alive and fresh.

As in all clams, the “foot” isn’t meant for walking; it’s for digging. By extending its foot (sometimes called its digger) down into the mud, then thickening it at the bottom and trying to retract it up into the shell, the clam hauls itself downward in a perfect application of Newton’s Third Law: For every upward pull there’s a downward push (not Sir Isaac’s exact words).

But just try to grab one and pull it out! The little devils can dig down faster than you can follow, and they can hold on so tightly that even if you do grab one, you may well break its fragile shell in the struggle to pull it from the mud. That’s why you will find razor clams only very rarely at your local fishmonger’s. It’s a shame, because they are so good to eat.

On the other hand, my respects go out to any delicious species that has outwitted our attempts to decimate its population.

Ultimate Oven Paella

Paella might seem difficult to make, but it is really just a series of easy steps. This step-by-step method is for beginners. Later, you can experiment to your heart’s content, because paella is not so much a dish as it is a rice-based concoction of local seafood and/or poultry and/or rabbit, depending on what part of Spain you’re making it in. But more than anything, paella is all about the saffron-flavored rice.