Name: Mussel and Macaroni Soup
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 1 star anise, a few fresh basil leaves, 1 sprig each of fresh thyme and tarragon tied in a square of muslin) or bouquet garni sachet; 225 g (8 oz) mixed vegetables (carrot, onion, celery and leek), cut into 6 mm (¼ in) dice; 450 g (1 lb) fresh mussels; 50 g (2 oz) unsalted butter; 1 star anise (optional); 300 ml (10 fl oz) dry white wine; 100 g (4 oz) dried or fresh macaroni, cooked; 1.2 litres (2 pints) Fish Stock; 1 garlic clove, crushed; 50 ml (2 fl oz) olive oil; 100 g (4 oz) unsalted butter; Salt and freshly ground white pepper; A few knobs of unsalted butter; ½ tablespoons Pesto Sauce; 6 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced; 4 celery sticks, cut into 6 mm (¼ in) dice; 6 black peppercorns; 1 bay leaf; 1 sprig of fresh thyme; 2 carrots, cut into 6 mm (¼ in) dice; 2 onions, cut into 6 mm (¼ in) dice

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Rhodes Around Britain

By Gary Rhodes

Published 1994

About

This soup is very wholesome, and I like to eat it as a supper dish with toasted French bread in the bowl – this soaks up all the juices and is lovely to eat.

Ingredients

For the Mussels

450 g (1 lb) fresh mussels
225 g (8 <

Method

Scrape and wash the mussels well. Remove the beards (the threads that hang out of the shells). Discard any mussels that gape and do not close when tapped sharply with a knife.

To cook the mussels, sweat all the diced vegetables, herbs and spices in the butter for a few minutes, then add the white wine and boil to reduce until almost dry. Add the fish stock, bring to the simmer and cook