Mussels in Arak – The Milk of Lions
Majd, an old college friend from Lebanon, was visiting London last week. It’s been nearly a decade since I last saw him, so you can imagine how overjoyed I was to see him.
As is customary with Lebanese, the traveler will always ask “badeek shee” (addressing a female) or do you need anything from here? And the person being posed the question should ideally respond: “salemtak” (addressing a male) or “your well being.”
Of course, I didn’t even wait to get asked the question. Are you kidding me?!?! I went straight for the kill and said; “Dude can you bring me some Arak with you, I’m having a hard time finding it here!” He’s thinking: “Is she having withdrawals or what?!”
Arak- Lebanon’s national drink- is a clear, colourless, unsweetened, aniseed flavoured alcohol distilled from grapes. It is quite similar to other spirits from around the Mediterranean like the Greek ouzo or the French pastis, amongst others. It’s also been nicknamed “halib al seba3″ or “The milk of lions” when back in the old days it was drunk by men in the mornings to show off strength and masculinity along with the belief that such a practice can also bring health. In Lebanon, the preferred alcohol volume of Arak is around 72%. To drink arak, it is diluted with water where it turns into a milky white color.
Majd arrived for dinner with a lovely bottle of Arak. We talked, drank, talked some more and shared loud and obnoxious laughs in remembrance of the olden days; when we were young, stupid and stupider.
We were all congregated in the kitchen while I was preparing a dish of prawns in arak and sumac. I twisted open the bottle of arak and started pouring it into the pot of sizzling onions and garlic when suddenly Majd had an all too familiar bewildered look on his face ” Beta what are you doing, aren’t you supposed to use wine?” he asked. ” Well you can, but I’m not making mariniere, this is my Lebanese fusion version, ya know!” I replied.
“hmm, yea I guess but in Lebanon we don’t really use arak in cooking because the process to distill it is so long and precise, and arak is such a delicacy, it goes through three distillations.” He insisted, his heart breaking.
“yeah, I know! You sound like my dad!” I said.
He’s right and he wasn’t the first one to give me such a perplexed look at first. When my dad first saw me cooking with arak-a man that distills his own arak- he proclaimed me crazy! That was it for him! What kind of daughter did he raise! He quickly got over it.
May I also add, that I recently made this for my aunt while in the South of France. It has now become one of her favorite ways to enjoy mussels.
So, you can guess how dinner went… I’ll save you the blacked-out recollection. But, when Majed tasted those prawns, he stopped arguing with me. That was it. No more conversation. Just E.A.T.I.N.G!
Some traditions are meant to be kept and some are meant to be broken! And I’m breaking the hell out of this one!
Mussels in Arak
Serves 2 ( as a main dish)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
- 1 medium onion, finely diced (can use shallots as well)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1kg of fresh mussels- cleaned
- 125ml arak (You can buy Arak from this online store: Al Doukan Otherwise, Ouzo or Pernod will do the trick as well)
- 50ml dry white wine
- 15g of butter or 1 tablespoon
- 10g fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
On medium to low flame, sautee onions/shallots till soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
Add garlic and sautee for a further 1 minute, stirring often.
add arak and white wine and let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Stir often. (If you know how to flambe, you know what to do)
Add the butter, mussels and salt. Cover and give a nice gentle shake.
Cook for 3-4 minutes to get moist and juicy mussels. You don’t want to over cook them because they turn dry and tough. Garnish with coriander.
Seriously everyone it was exceptionally tasty…….
x
for everyone who has Arak this recipe is a must do.
Beth i have some pix that I will mail u
just perfect, anise based liquors as Arak, Ouzo or Pastis match perfectly with seafood and fish. I always cook shrimps with Pastis, now I will try your mussels (but need to find some Arak somehow…hard task:( )
ooooo…would love to taste this dish right now! we always have lots of mussels here in Santa Barbara so we will do it soon. you always amuse…thanks, s
Heidi- check out http://www.aldoukan.com they ship anywhere to the US and I used to order from them when I lived in US. Otherwise, I use Ouzo, which works just the same way.
S.Stockwell- Thank you! I absolutely love mussels and would move to santa barbara if that is the case
I am so impressed I had to save it so I continously go back and read things I may have skimmed
It’s interesting to find how challenging the content side is for some
Sad to say I can’t eat mussels (allergy) but as a lover of Pastis I’m very intrigued by Arak- The Milk of Lions. Hopefully I will find some in my travels and enjoy it with a splash of water!
jo duma