Moules gratinées

The shell fish van from Bouzigues comes to the village every Saturday morning as well as Thursday afternoons so, as we often do. we had mussels for lunch today.

Recipe: Cook the mussels in a little white wine until they have all opened. Discard the empty half of the shell and leave the mussel in the other half. Cover the mussels with a mix of breadcrumbs, chopped garlic and paprika (I used a finely chopped piment d'Espelette but dried paprika would be OK), then pour over some olive oil and add some finely grated hard cheese. Put under the grill until the cheese and breadcrumbs have browned. Serve with slices of lemon. A kilo of mussels serves 2 as a main course, 4-5 as a first course.