Moules Marinière

Moules mariniere is mussels steamed in white wine, shallots, parsley, and butter: the cooking liquor reduces into a briny, aromatic broth that is as much the dish as the mussels themselves. The mussel liquor is intensely saline and marine, the butter adds richness, the wine in the pot adds acidity, and the shallots bring a gentle sweetness. The wine must be unoaked: mussels and oak produce a metallic clash, and have enough acidity to sit alongside rather than below the liquor.