Life Styles

Greenshell mussels are a New Zealand delicacy. In our restaurant it is great to be able to offer international visitors something that is distinctive to this country. While mussels are currently a controversial subject for me, as Banks Peninsula residents battle against 40 applications to erect mussel farms in Akaroa Harbour and the northern Bay's of the Peninsula, I still enjoy a mussel feast.

Mussels are party food in the sense that if you serve them on the barbecue or in their shells, people need to get involved in the eating process. The smoke of the barbecue adds a spicy character to the mussels. Asian ingredients such as coriander and lemon grass seem to work very well with texture of the mussels. The following recipe is for a red pepper salsa which can be made up in advance before you cook the mussels. The mussels can be de-bearded by ripping off the beard while running them under cold water. The mussels can then be steamed in a big pot with a little water and a lid or grilled on the barbecue until they open. Remember to make sure that the mussels have opened during the cooking process. If not then you need to discard them.

Red Pepper and Coriander Salsa

• 2 red pepper
• 1 chilli
• 2 bulbs of spring onion
• 1/4 cup of fresh coriander leaves
• 1/2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• olive oil

Heat the over to 180C. Roast the red peppers in the oven until tender. Remove and place in bowl. Peel when cool and then dice, retaining the juices for their flavour. Slice the spring onion and chilli and add to the red pepper. Coarsely chop the fresh coriander and add enough olive oil to give the mixture a good sheen without making it too runny. Leave for half an hour for flavours to meld before serving.