MUSSELS IN GRAPE LEAVES
Fiona Smith
Makes
24Preparation
30 minCook
25 minIngredients
| 120ml dry white wine | |
| 24 mussels | |
| 2 tablespoons olive oil | |
| 1 small onion, very finely chopped | |
| 1 red capsicum, very finely chopped | |
| 1 tablespoon oregano, very finely chopped | |
| ½ teaspoon chilli flakes | |
| 2 tomatoes, very finely chopped | |
| 100g preserved vine leaves, rinsed |
Fish wrapped in vine leaves is a great Mediterranean dish; oily fish such as sardines are popular, but NZ mussels work well as they are big and meaty. If your leaves are small, you may need to overlap two.
Instructions
| 1. | Bring the wine to the boil in a large saucepan and cook the mussels for about 4 minutes until opened. |
| 2. | Remove as soon as they open, cool and remove from their shells. |
| 3. | Carefully sieve the wine and set aside. |
| 4. | Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, capsicum, oregano and chilli with a sprinkle of salt, for 10 minutes until soft. |
| 5. | Add the tomatoes and wine and cook for a further 5 minutes to boil down and thicken as you don’t want too much liquid. |
| 6. | Season to taste with salt and pepper. |
| 7. | Place a mussel in the centre of a vine leaf with a tablespoon of the capsicum mixture and wrap up. You can secure with a toothpick if needed. |
| 8. | Heat the barbecue to hot and cook for about 1 minute each side until the mussel is just heated through (you could do a test on one first to see how fast your barbecue cooks them). |
| 9. | You could serve these with a simple yoghurt and dill dip if you like. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith /Â Photography Aaron McLean /Â Styling Fiona Lascelles

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