Best Impromtu Meal Ever

[Spydaman]

Went down to Cornwall at the weekend and camped at Mawgan Porth. Spent the day on the beach on Saturday and sent the kids to pick some mussels off the rocks. They came back with a carrier bag full of nice size ones which suprised me as there's not an R in the month. Stopped on the way home a got a couple of onions a clove of garlic and a bootle of white wine and had the best moules marinare ever.

[brum]

I believe that they are there all year round - you are not supposed to eat them when there's not an R in the month due to them storing toxins (i think - might be bks).
Don't seem to have done you too much harm though.

[Sharief]

Love Mawgan Porth. When the wind's right, get some decent surfing done.

[smiller]

Spydaman said:

Went down to Cornwall at the weekend and camped at Mawgan Porth. Spent the day on the beach on Saturday and sent the kids to pick some mussels off the rocks. They came back with a carrier bag full of nice size ones which suprised me as there's not an R in the month. Stopped on the way home a got a couple of onions a clove of garlic and a bootle of white wine and had the best moules marinare ever.

Quality

Such a simple dish has no right to be that tasty.

Not "impromptu", but unexpectedly simple and tasty was something I had at a little osteria in Valeggio (the home - supposedly - of tortellini) a few years ago. Prosciutto tortellini drizzled with butter and sprinkled with fresh chopped sage

[edwardsje]

brum said:

I believe that they are there all year round - you are not supposed to eat them when there's not an R in the month due to them storing toxins (i think - might be bks).
Don't seem to have done you too much harm though.

Yes, mussels not a migratory species!

Serious toxins at this time of year - slow acting, lingering death, much agony, no antidote, you get the picture. Now where's that tongue in cheek smilie...

[TIGA84]

Oysters are to be eaten with an R in the month, didnt think that applied to mussels.

[10 Pence Short]

Had a similar thing the other week, though not as self sufficient, I suppose. A few of us decided just before the shop shut at 10pm to have a barbecue- nothing decent in there apart from a couple of whole chickens. Spatchcocked the pair, 45 minutes later they were absoutely stunning.

[Flintstone]

TIGA84 said:

Oysters are to be eaten with an R in the month, didnt think that applied to mussels.

I thought it was all shellfish on account of toxins, algae and the like flourishing in the warmer months.

[TIGA84]

Flintstone said:

TIGA84 said:

Oysters are to be eaten with an R in the month, didnt think that applied to mussels.

I thought it was all shellfish on account of toxins, algae and the like flourishing in the warmer months.

You may well be right there sir, I just always had the oyster thing in my head.

[edwardsje]

TIGA84 said:

Flintstone said:

TIGA84 said:

Oysters are to be eaten with an R in the month, didnt think that applied to mussels.

I thought it was all shellfish on account of toxins, algae and the like flourishing in the warmer months.

You may well be right there sir, I just always had the oyster thing in my head.

The Shellfish Association of Great Britain (it exists!) counsels against collecting bivalves from the wild in case toxic algal blooms have occurred. Commercially available shellfish can be eaten year round, with the exception of native oysters during the summer months, when they are out of season.

[Spydaman]

Spatchcock chicken, now that's something I've never heard of or tried before but sounds like an ideal camping bbq meal. A bit of fun to prepare, not too difficult to cook and tasty to eat.

[10 Pence Short]

Spydaman said:

Spatchcock chicken, now that's something I've never heard of or tried before but sounds like an ideal camping bbq meal. A bit of fun to prepare, not too difficult to cook and tasty to eat.

Dead easy- just turn it upside down, cut it up the middle and Bob is your uncle.

If you want it to be fantastic, cut it, then stuff it full of marinade, whack it into a plastic bag and put in the fridge for a day before you cook it.

[Piglet]

One of the simplest, nicest things in the world is the French countryside, with crusty french bread, a camembert that's been in the boot for a couple of hours (nice, warm and squishy!) and a bottle of wine....find a river to stop by and it's bliss