Recipe
Recipe

Ingredients
Lemon infused spanish olive oil
- 1 cup spanish olive oil
- ½ cup extra virgin olive
- ½ cup fresh lemon zest
- 4 lemon quarters
Fennel sauté
- 1tbsp unsalted butter
- 1tbsp shallots, peeled and minced
- 1tsp garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 cup fennel, shaved
- 1tsp pernod
- 1tbsp parsley
Romesco base
- 1½ cups roasted bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, peeled
- 1tsp anchovies
- 1tbsp sherry vinegar
- 2tsp sriracha or spanish hot sauce
- 1tsp dijon mustard
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ⅔ cup almonds, peeled
- 2tsp sea salt
- ½tsp black pepper
Romesco aioli
- ½ cup romesco base
- 1 cup mayonnaise
Black spanish olive rillette
- ½ cup black spanish olives, seeded and chopped
- 1tsp garlic, freshly peeled and minced
- 2tsp capers
- 2tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1tsp fresh lemon zest, minced
- black pepper, freshly ground
Additional ingredients required for assembly
- 6 mussels per serving, New Zealand
- greenshell™ mussels (frozen half shell)
- panko bread crumbs
- country bread, thinly sliced, quartered, toasted
- fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Seafood used

Cooking method
Lemon infused spanish olive oil
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring oil to 200°F or 93°C.
- Remove from heat and rest for 3 hours.
- When cool, pass through fine chinois into a clean container. Discard solids and cover container with plastic wrap.
Fennel sauté
- Heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add shallots and garlic-sweat 1 minute.
- Add fennel and pernod and sauté until fennel is al dente.
- Add parsley, sauté 30 seconds.
- Remove from direct heat and season to taste.
- Reserve, keeping warm.
Romesco base
- Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender puree until smooth.
- Transfer to clean container and cover.
Romesco aioli
- Combine romesco base and mayonnaise.
- Using funnel transfer aioli to plastic squeeze bottles and refrigerate.
Black spanish olive rillette
- Combine olives, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil in bowl. Season with black pepper to taste.
- Transfer to clean container, cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate.
To serve
- Separate mussels from half shell using a sharp knife. Put mussels back in shells.
- Drizzle lemon infused spanish oil on mussels.
- Scatter each mussel with fennel sauté and panko and roast in 400°F or 205°C oven until crumbs turn golden brown and fennel sauté is warm
- Arrange in large bowl. Scatter with parsley.
- Spread grilled country bread with black spanish olive rillette, slice in half and arrange on side of plate.
- Serve immediately.
Recipe courtesy Nurtured Seafood and image Patrick McDonnell Photography