Mussel Stew with Pineau Des Charentes

This is French bistro cooking at its most refined, and it comes together in about 40 minutes flat. Mussels steam open in a pot of white wine, thyme, bay leaves, and a whisper of saffron and cayenne. The resulting broth gets strained into a cream sauce built from shallots, garlic, butter, and flour, then finished with Pineau des Charentes, the lightly fortified Cognac-region aperitif that gives this stew its name and its soul.

Pineau des Charentes is the signature. If you can find it, use it. It’s a French fortified wine made by blending unfermented grape juice with Cognac, then aging the mixture for at least a year. The result has the sweetness of a dessert wine but with smoky warmth underneath. Two tablespoons turns an already-great cream sauce into something memorably French.

Don’t skip the final sauce reduction. The recipe calls for reducing the wine-mussel liquor down to ¾ cup before cream goes in, then reducing the whole sauce to 1 cup. That double concentration is what gives the final stew its richness.

Chef Tips

• Scrub and debeard mussels right before cooking. Pre-cleaned mussels that sit around can die and turn bad.
• Discard any mussels that don’t open after cooking. Closed mussels were dead before they hit the pot.
• Use a pinch of real saffron threads, not turmeric. There’s no substitute for the floral bitterness saffron brings.
• If you can’t find Pineau des Charentes, substitute a dry sherry or a tablespoon of Cognac plus a tablespoon of apple juice.

Variations

• Add a handful of diced pancetta or bacon with the shallots for a smokier edge.
• Serve over saffron risotto or with crusty bread for a heartier meal.
• Stir in a tablespoon of Pernod or pastis along with the Pineau for an anise note.