Help with Billi Bi soup

[cassoulady]

I would like to make Billi Bi soup this weekend. I have only had it in restaurants and am hoping for some help on what recipe to use or any other tips for this dish. Some recipes call for fish stock and some seem to just call for the juices from the cooked mussels. Any help would be great. Thanks!

[chefj]

The soup is super simple
* 1/2 bottle dry white white
* 1 bouquet garni
* 1 cup water
* 2 pounds mussels (in the shell)
* 2 Tablespoons butter
* 2 leeks, white only, cut into slivers
* 2 carrots, peeled and cut into very fine slivers (like the leeks)
* 3/4 cup heavy cream
* 2 egg yolks, beaten
* dash of Tabasco sauce optional
* 1/2 teaspoon saffron optional
* Salt and pepper to taste
Scrub and debeard mussels.
Place in a pot that has a tight fitting lid with the rest of the ingredients except the last 5.
Cook on med heat till mussels are open.
Mix cream and yolks and temper with some hot soup and add back in.
Add options if desired and heat gently till hot but not boiling.

[cassoulady]

So traditionally, are the whole mussels added back it or no?

[rainey]

Yes. added back in. I've never chopped them up but you could do that too.

[rainey]

I got the following one when Sara Moulton was still on the air. The first time I made it it was like sex in a bowl. IIt's all about the mussles. If you've got great mussels and good cream it will be rich and delicious. If the mussels are disappointing there isn't much point to bothering because cleaning them is a b*tch. And order more than you think you need because you might have to discard a surprising number of them.

Anyway, it can be beyond merely delicious. Good luck with it.

Mussel Soup Billy Bi

2 quarts uncooked mussels in shells, (about 3 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 shallots, finely chopped
3 sprigs parsley
1/4 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 to 2 cups fish broth or 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
salt
chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1. Discard any mussels that have opened. Scrape off barnacles and scrub mussels with a stiff brush under running water; drain.

2. In a 4 to 5-quart kettle over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the paprika and shallots and cook, stirring, until soft but not brown. Add the mussels in shells, parsley, peppercorns, and wine. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the mussels open (about 6 to 8 minutes). Discard any mussels that remain closed.

3. Remove the mussels from the liquid. Strain the liquid through a dampened cloth and measure it. Add fish broth to make 4 cups. Return liquid to the kettle (rinsed to remove any sand).

4. Remove the mussels from the shells, discarding the shells. Pinch out and discard any "beards" from the mussels.

5. To the liquid, add the cream. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat slightly, and boil until the soup is reduced by about one-fourth. Lower heat to medium. Taste and add salt, if needed. Add the mussels and cook until just heated through. Serve hot or chilled, garnished with parsley.

[jns7]

Craig Claiborne's New York TImes Cookbook has a recipe for this.

[AdamD]

Yup. No fish stock, strained mussel liquid.

[greygarious]

I know Jacques Pepin makes it in one of the Julia & Jacques episodes.