Soup’s On - Saffron Soup with Mussels

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jan 21, 2009 8:00PM

Making good soup is of the few great things about the cold, wet winters of Chicago. Over the next few months we will publish some of our favorite soup recipes to help lift your spirits and fill your bellies.

For our first soup, we’re going to start with something a bit new. This surprising soup is intensely rich and flavorful and, despite it’s many steps, is relatively easy to make. It is purposefully Saffron soup, rather than Mussel soup, as it has a large amount of the precious spice - but it’s worth a trip up to Devon St. or to the Spice House to splurge on the beautiful orange stamens. This recipe serves 2 as a full meal or 4 as an appetizer.

Saffron Soup with Mussels
Adapted from a recipe by Simon Hopkinson

1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp Pernod
1/2 bottle white wine
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground thyme
2 cups chicken stock
1 lb mussels, cleaned
1 baking potato, peeled and diced
1 tsp saffron
1/4 cup cream
lemon juice, to taste

Melt the butter, sauté the onions and garlic until soft. Add Pernod, white wine and herbs. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add the chicken stock and heat through.

Put the mussels in a separate pot, and strain the soup over them using a colander. KEEP THE CONTENTS OF THE COLANDER. Boil the mussels in the broth, covered, until they are just open - about 5 minutes. Drain them, keeping all the broth. Return the broth and the onions and garlic to the original pot, discarding the bay leaf, and add the potatoes, saffron, salt and pepper. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.

This is a bit complex, but the idea is to avoid having to pick out the mussels by hand. If you’d prefer to do this, you can skip the straining step - but the mussels must be shelled. REMEMBER - any mussel that doesn’t open (or that is cracked or broken) should be discarded.

Meanwhile, shell the mussels. When the potatoes are cooked, add the mussels to the soup, along with the cream. Adjust the seasoning and add lemon juice to taste.