In August 09 we had Martin Hesp from the Western Morning News in to do a feature on the Fowey river mussels we serve. This part of Cornwall has always been synonymous with producing superb shellfish and now, thanks to the Hancock family, it also boasts the South West’s first off-shore ‘rope grown’ mussel farm.

The plan was for Will Hancock to pick us up from the jetty and take us the mile or so down the water towards St. Austell Bay. After we’d hauled one of the heavy ropes out of the crystal clear waters (and tried some raw mussels) it was back to the kitchen to show Martin a couple of quick recipes. Here’s a very simple dish you might like to try at home. Read full article>

Crab and Mussel Linguine with Garlic and Chilli Butter
(Serves 2)

For the butter, crush the chillies and garlic in a blender (or pestle and mortar) and blend with the unsalted butter, lemon juice and season. (Quantities really depend on how much you like chilli and garlic). We use half fresh red chilli and half dried chilli as it imparts a smoky heat to the butter.

Ingredients:

1 large red pepper, peeled, seeded and finely sliced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
100g rocket
200g picked white crab meat
About 20 mussels, scrubbed
50ml white wine
250g cooked linguine/spaghetti/tagliatelli etc
Garlic and chilli butter, according to taste

Method:

1). In a hot pan put the mussels, sliced peppers, butter and wine. Cover tightly to cook the mussels (approx 2-4 minutes until open. Discard any that are closed).

2). Take the lid off, reduce the liquor and add tomatoes, crab and rocket.

3). Toss in the pasta and stir well to heat through. If the sauce is too thin, add more chilli butter or unsalted butter to thicken.

4). Season well and serve immediately.