Whisky Focus - Bowmore Pine-Fired Mussels with Spear-Leaved Orache

River Cottage’s chief forager John Wright and head chef Gill Meller have created a series of delicious recipes perfectly matched to Bowmore Islay’s first Single Malt.

This dramatic method for cooking mussels must be as old as the hills. It imparts a fantastic flavour to this forgeable shellfish. I’ve combined them with a delicate seashore vegetable – spear-leaved orache, which is similar to spinach.

Ingredients
Serves 4

• 2 kg mussels (make sure the mussels are clean and de-bearded. If you have foraged them yourself they will need to be thoroughly cleaned and checked over)
• 1 forager’s basket full of very dry pine needles
  Splash of Bowmore 12 Years Old
• 1 Clove of garlic
• 2 handfuls of spear leafed orache
• 1 knob of butter
• 1 tbls olive oil

Method

• Scatter a layer of malted barley over a large metal tray measuring about 40-50cm in diameter, set this somewhere outside.
   
• Take the clean mussels and lay them all hinge side up and side by side in a big circle, then lay a stack of pine needles over the top about 20cm high.
   
• Set fire to the pine needles in several different places all up wind of the tray and give it a good blow to get it going. Make sure you have chosen a suitable place to cook your mussels, as the fire is quite dramatic. I cooked ours on top of a Bowmore cask.
   
• Once the pine needles have burnt up (5–10mins) the mussels are ready to pick out. Be careful because the shells can be hot.
   
• Place a pan over a medium heat and add the butter, olive oil and garlic. Cook the garlic for 1min then add the spear-leaved orache, place a lid on the pan and cook for 2–3mins.
   
• Add the picked pine fired mussels and season with salt and pepper and heat through.
   
• It’s very important to cook the mussels properly, especially if you’ve foraged them yourself, so if in any doubt bring to a simmer and cook for 2mins.
   
• This dish is lovely served in clean oyster shells.

Foraging Tip
Spear-leaved orache is one of many spinach-like wild foods. It is common on beaches but also in allotment gardens as a persistent weed. Another, more familiar species, is Fat Hen – although bane of the vegetable gardener – it should be cooked and not thrown on the compost heap! For those who love seaside foraging, the sea beet is the one to go for; succulent and sweet it puts spinach to shame.
 

• About Bowmore River Cottage Whisky Recipes
   
• Bowmore Dry Cured Oak and Peat-Smoked Sirloin and Crispy Gutweed
   
• Pine-Fired Mussels with Spear-Leaved Orache
   
• Wood-Roasted Lobster and Scallops with Wild Sorrel Sauce
   
• Sea Lettuce, Clam, Potato and Oyster Rostis
   
• Chocolate and Seaweed Pannacotta with Bowmore Butter Shortbread
   
• Chocolate and Bowmore-Soaked Prune Fondant

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