Around the Sound

Recipes

Dec 13

Taylor Shellfish

Turkish Fried Mussels With 'Tarator' Sauce

Posted by Taylor Shellfish

Ingredients

  • ¾  cup plain yogurt
  • ½ cup crumbled white bread (crust removed)
  • 6 walnut halves (crushed)
  • 1 clove garlic (crushed)
  • 2 tsp. lemon juice
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 36-40 mussels (shelled and cleaned)
  • ¾ cup flour
  • ¾ cup club soda
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Oil for frying
  • ½  tsp. salt
  • 3 ½  tsp. baking soda
  • 4 ¼ cups water

Steps to Make It

  • First, prepare the tarator dipping sauce by combing the yogurt, bread crumbs, crushed walnuts, garlic, lemon juice and salt in a chopper or food processor. Set the sauce aside to set.
  • Next, prepare the mussels. Make sure the mussels have no remaining pieces of beard or debris. Rinse them under very cold water and pat them dry with paper towels.
  • Dip each mussel in flour and shake off the excess.
  • Put three floured mussels on each bamboo skewer leaving space at one end for holding.
  • In a deep skillet or saucepan add the oil and heat it for frying.
  • While the oil heats up, whisk together the club soda, flour, salt and egg yolk until smooth in a large mixing bowl.
  • When it thickens to resemble the consistency of cake batter, stop whisking and set it aside.
  • In a  separate bowl, stir together the water and baking soda until well combined. Set it aside.
  • Dip the mussels on each skewer in the batter and turn it until all the mussels are well covered.
  • After the batter, immediately dip the mussels in the baking soda and water mixture and put it in the hot oil to fry.
  • Turn the mussels on the skewer as they cook with thongs so they brown evenly on all sides.
  • Put a few hot skewers on a plate with a dollop of tarator sauce for dipping. You can also spread some tarator sauce between the crusts of a hunk of Turkish bread.
  • Then use the bread to hold the mussels and slide them off the skewer.

You have an instant fried mussel sandwich!

Recipe Courtesy The Spruce Eats photo from Yemek Tarifleri