This recipe for mussels ajada is made by combining a base of potatoes and onions with mussels in ajada sauce and is finished with crispy garlic chips. Ajada sauce is traditionally used for pork, but it also pairs beautifully with seafood, and the bed of potato and onion soaks up all the extra juices.
Scrub the mussels and remove any beards. Give each mussel a sharp tap on a work surface, and discard any that don’t close
Boil the potatoes and onions in salted water over a high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until tender, then drain, reserving 100ml of the cooking water
To make the crispy garlic chips, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Cook gently until the garlic turns a light golden brown, then remove and set aside on kitchen paper
To make the ajada sauce, remove the oil from the heat and rest for 30 seconds to cool slightly before adding the hot pimentón. Stir the oil gently for a minute or so, to cook the pimentón without burning it - if the oil it too hot, the pimentón will burn and become bitter
Add the sherry vinegar carefully (it may spit a little, depending on the temperature of the oil) and stir again to combine. Set aside
Place a pan large enough to hold the mussels over a medium heat. Add the mussels and reserved potato and onion cooking water then put the lid on. Steam for a few minutes, until the mussels have all opened
To serve, spread the potatoes out on a plate and top with the mussels, ajada sauce, parsley and crispy garlic chips
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