Zeeland, the province of islands and estuaries in the far southwest of the Netherlands, is mussel country. The shellfish are farmed in the waters of the Oosterschelde, mostly on the seabed and some on hanging ropes and nets, and the small town of Yerseke is the center of it all, home to the Dutch mussel auction and to processors handling around 90 million kilos a year. Much of the harvest goes south to Belgium and France, which tells you something about how good it is. When the season is on, Zeeland restaurants serve mussels by the potful, and the classic way to cook them is also the simplest.

The mussels go into a big pot with a bed of chopped onion, leek, celery and carrot, a couple of bay leaves, some peppercorns and a good splash of white wine, and steam for a few minutes until they open. The pot goes straight to the table, with an empty dish for the shells and a bowl of mustard sauce for dipping. Fries or crusty bread come alongside, and the only real decision is whether to dip each mussel in the sauce or the broth, which is the kind of decision a weekend should be made of.

The whole dish takes under half an hour, most of it cleaning, which makes it a fine choice for a late lunch on race weekend. Zandvoort is a seaside circuit, after all.

Cleaning the mussels

Ingredients

• 6 lb (2.7 kg) live mussels in their shells

Method

1. Tip the mussels into the colander in the sink and rinse them under cold running water, stirring them with your hands to wash away any sand and grit.
2. Go through them one at a time. Throw away any with cracked or broken shells. If a mussel is open, tap it firmly on the counter and wait a few seconds; if it does not close, throw it away.
3. Some mussels have a tuft of brown threads, the beard, sticking out between the shells. Grip it between your thumb and the flat of the small knife and pull it firmly toward the hinge end of the shell until it comes away. Scrape off any barnacles with the back of the knife. Put the cleaned mussels in the large bowl.

The mustard sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) Dutch style or Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Method

1. Whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and sugar together in the small bowl until smooth. Stir in the chives if using. Taste: it should be clearly sharp. Cover and keep in the fridge until serving.

Steaming the mussels

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter
• 1 large onion
• 1 leek
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• to serve crusty bread or fries

Method

1. Melt the butter in the very large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, celery, carrot and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns.
2. Pour in the wine and turn the heat to high. When it boils, tip in all the mussels, put the lid on tightly and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Holding the lid on firmly with a towel, lift the pot and shake it hard, or stir with the slotted spoon, to move the bottom mussels to the top. Cover again and cook for 2 to 4 minutes more, until nearly all are open. Do not overcook; open mussels shrink and turn rubbery quickly.
4. Throw away any mussels that have stayed firmly shut. Scatter the parsley over the top and bring the pot to the table, or ladle the mussels, vegetables and some of the broth into warm bowls. Put out the mustard sauce, bread or fries, and an empty bowl for shells.

More from Netherlands