Hot Mussel Salad with Curly Endive and Cream

This warm salad of mussels, carrots, and shredded wild greens makes a very pretty first course or luncheon salad. The method of cooking the mussels is a variation on the famous mouclade of the Charente, a dish often tinted with a pinch of saffron or curry. These Eastern spices are more common that you might think in this area—especially along the coast where ships from India stopped in at Bordeaux en route to England.