This exquisite and unique Mussel and Saffron soup is from Marco Pierre White. A stunning dish that demands everyone’s attention!
Fine dining at home with Marco Pierre White’s dish
Welcome to the wonderful world of creative cooking by renowned British chef Marco Pierre White. An exquisite and stunning-looking dish, its vibrant golden broth is eye-catching and demands attention.
It well and truly got my attention big time because when I first laid my eyes on the photo of the dish, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Every aspect of the dish intrigued me, from the taste to the ingredients and because it’s Marco’s.
MasterChef Australia introduced me to Marco Pierre White. They invited him to the show as a guest judge. Marco is quite a unique character. He’s extremely talented, very intense, and a little intimidating. A culinary genius who was awarded 3 Michelin stars at the age of 33, making him the youngest ever to receive this prestigious award. Marco has trained celebrity chefs in the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Shannon Bennett and Curtis Stone.
For a chef of this calibre, you would expect their recipe to be at least 6 pages long, complex and technical. To my relief, it wasn’t, and besides the saffron, his recipe doesn’t call for any other exotic ingredients.
This mussel and saffron soup is utterly delectable. I don’t say that word often, but this dish 100% deserves it. Such a delightful dish to make and a pleasure to dine on. A creamy-tasting mussel soup with layers of complex flavours. This soup truly belongs in a fine dining restaurant!
Mussel and Saffron Soup made easy
I actually found this Mussel and Saffron soup recipe on Curtis Stone’s website. Curtis slightly changed Marco’s recipe, and I have slightly tweaked Curtis’ version to make it even easier for us home cooks.
Marco’s and Curtis’s dish looks more refined because they removed the mussels from their shells. Even though it can get a little messy, I love eating mussels in their shells and I think they look pretty, so I left them on. Leaving them on means less prep work, and that is always a bonus! I also didn’t strain out the vegetables for a silky soup. I probably would have done this step if I was serving this dish to my guests.
This recipe is a keeper and I can’t wait to serve this as a starter for my guest at my next dinner party. I’m confident they’ll be in awe of this dish and so will you!
Are you a seafood lover? Then you must check out these recipes:
Green Papaya Salad with Prawns
Poached Salmon in Chinese spiced broth
Salmon Tartare with Wasabi and Apple
Ingredients for Mussel and Saffron Soup
Mussels – I used Australian Blue mussels that came in a vacuum-sealed bag ready to use. They’re kept alive with ocean water and are cleaned prior to packaging. The only thing I had to do was rinse the mussels out in cold water and leave them in a colander to drain out the water. If you’re using uncleaned mussels, scrub the shells and pull out their beards before cooking.
Saffron threads – Pure saffron threads are expensive for just a tiny amount. It’s nicknamed ‘Red Gold’ for a reason! Saffron has a floral, earthy and sweet honey flavour. Supermarkets usually stock saffron near the spice and cooking section. Be mindful of very cheap fake saffron, as you definitely want to avoid these! I bought 100mg (a very tiny amount) for approximately $10 (USD 7).
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Fish stock – I used store-bought fish stock, which I found near the beef and chicken stock. You could use your own homemade fish stock.
Dry white wine is lower in sugar levels than other varieties of white wine. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio are popular dry white wine varieties.
Thickened cream (whipping cream) has gelatine added to it and contains 35% milk fat. To maintain a smooth, rich consistency, I don’t recommend using low-fat cream.
How to make Mussel and Saffron Soup
Step-by-step guide with photos
Scrub, remove beards of mussels and rinse them under cold water. Place the mussels in a large colander, to drain the water. Thinly slice the onion, celery and leeks.
Melt the butter in a large deep frying pan or a saucepan over medium-low heat. Then add in the onions, celery, leek, curry powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, thyme and saffron. Cook and stir regularly for 5 minutes until the saffron bleeds (veggies are a golden yellow colour).
Increase the heat to high and add in the wine, then cook until the alcohol smell disappears. Add in the fish stock and let the mixture come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, then add in the mussels and cover for a minute. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove all the mussels from the pan and transfer them into a large bowl. Discard any mussels that didn’t open. Reduce the heat to low and stir the cream into the pan, then cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, then return the mussels to the pan and stir gently to combine. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper if needed.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Mussel and Saffron Soup
Ingredients
- 2 kg mussels (with shell, cleaned) (NOTE 1)
- 50 gm unsalted butter
- 1 small brown onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 stalk celery (thinly sliced)
- 1 leek (white part only, thinly sliced)
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or adjust to taste)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- ¼ tsp saffron threads (firmly packed) (NOTE 2)
- 3 cups dry white wine (NOTE 3)
- 2 cups fish stock (NOTE 4)
- 450 ml thickened cream (NOTE 5)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Scrub, remove beards of mussels and rinse them under cold water. Place the mussels in a large colander, to drain the water. Thinly slice the onion, celery and leeks.
- Melt the butter in a large deep frying pan or a saucepan over medium-low heat. Then add in the onions, celery, leek, curry powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, thyme and saffron. Cook and stir regularly for 5 minutes until the saffron bleeds (veggies are a golden yellow colour).
- Increase the heat to high and add in the wine, then cook until the alcohol smell disappears. Add in the fish stock and let the mixture come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, then add in the mussels and cover for a minute. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove all the mussels from the pan and transfer them into a large bowl. Discard any mussels that didn't open. Reduce the heat to low and stir the cream into the pan, then cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, then return the mussels to the pan and stir gently to combine. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper if needed.
