Prep: 15min  ›  Cook: 5min  ›  Ready in: 20min 

Preparing and cooking mussels is super quick and easy, so if you’re stuck on how to impress guests this season, or just fancy something a tad lighter to eat between Christmas and New Year then these Tipsy Mussels could be perfect for you.

1. 1. Start by gently frying freshly crushed garlic and either finely sliced spring onions or shallots in a little oil. White or red onions I feel are too strong in flavour for this dish, you want the mussels to sing for themselves so a mild ‘hum’ is all you’re looking for;
   2. After 30 seconds or so pour around half a bottle of Prosecco/wine/champers into a pot and place a lid on to bring to the boil;
   3. Once boiling tip in your prepared mussels (all I did was give them a good scrub and made sure any ‘seaweed beards’ were removed). As a guide for a snack I would recommend at least half a pound of mussels in weight per person, but if treating a full course within a meal then perhaps one pound per person in weight. Cook for one minute.
   4. From here on keep your eye on these through the lid, they won’t take long to open up, and when they are open, they are ready to eat! You may have to give the pot a good old stir and then place back to cook for another 1-2 minutes but these beauties really will be ready in well under 5 minutes!

To serve, pair with big chunks of crusty, or freshly baked, bread and make sure you ladle that broth all over the open shell cups. Go easy on the seasoning, the mussels already add natural salt to the mix so you may find you don’t need any at all.