Numerous archaeological studies suggest that our prehistoric ancestors were avid mussels’ eaters! When I close my eyes, my vivid imagination starts drawing images of our primal confreres sitting in front of their formidable prehistorical tables greedily devouring mussels, flavored with lemon juice. Well, I am just kidding about the lemon juice: the paleo folks were not as spoiled as we, modern paleo diet followers are. In fact, many cultured fruits and vegetables were still out of their reach at the time; on the positives side, the real paleo folks weren’t bothered by wheat and other grains containing gluten…”Oh, gluten, I hate thee!”

In my own experience it is important to be properly equipped in order to avoid gluten as much as possible. Therefore, the first thing we did upon our return to France was to order the Instant Pot and the very first dish I prepared in the pot was these steamed mussels with apple cider. As I’ve already reintroduced apple cider before I knew that it was safe for me to consume. Besides, in France mussels and apple cider are sold in nearly every grocery store and I took advantage of their availability. And by the way, cooking mussels in the instant pot is fast, convenient and delicious: all you need is 1 minute on the manual setting et voilà les moules au cidre sont prêtes!

PARIS: The pont Alexandre III. “Girl with shell”.

Steamed Mussels with Apple Cider

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

8 mins

Total time

18 mins

 

Special Equipment: Instant Pot

Author: Zesty Paleo

Cuisine: French

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1 tablespoon palm shortening or coconut oil
• 2 shallots, sliced or diced
• 1 thick garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 bouquet garni (optional)
• parsley to garnish

Instructions

1. Press the Sauté button on the instant pot and melt the shortening. Add the shallots with garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Next add the cider, apple cider vinegar, bouquet garni and mussels. Cancel the sauté function.
3. Close and lock the lid. Press Manual for high pressure and set cooking time to 1 minute. Once the time is up, quick release the pressure.
4. Garnish with the parsley and serve!

Notes

Variations: You can make steamed mussels with cider and bacon by adding 2-3 bacon strips, cut into cubes. Once the oil is heated add the bacon strips and sauté for 2 minutes. Follow the rest of the steps as outlined in the recipe.

3.5.3208