Belgium: Moules Frites

When I think of Belgium I think of chocolate and Belgium waffles- well, I didn’t know how to get ahold of Belgian chocolate and I don’t have a waffle maker, so unfortunately I had to make something different! I decided to go with the Belgian national dish of moules frites and I have to say that I was not disappointed!!

Moules frites is mussels and fries! To be honest, I’ve never really been a mollusk fan, besides scallops anyway, so I was a little skeptical when I decided to make this dish but I figured there’s no better time to learn to like them! I’ve also never made mussels before so I thought it would be fun to try! These mussels were cooked in a buttery, garlicky wine sauce with evaporated milk added for a little creaminess and seasoned with fresh parsley and a little lemon! And don’t forget the bread for dipping into this delicious, rich sauce! I used homemade bread from a sweet friend but any bread would work! These flavors blended so well with the seafood and I have to say, I may be a fan of mussels now!

Traditionally served with the mussels are fries- but not just regular fries, they’re cool fries… Well actually they’re doubly hot, but you know what I mean! These Belgian fries are sliced extra thick and twice fried in beef fat. The first fry is in medium heat to cook the inside, and the second fry is in high heat to really crisp up the outside. See? Pretty cool, right?

Oh! And you can’t forget the best part of the fries: The Sauces!! While traditionally served with mayo, Belgians love to having all kinds of creative condiment mixture options. They even have restaurants and kiosks dedicated solely to fries (frites) and condiments! I made a pickapeppa horseradish aioli, a garlicky dill aioli, and an umami aioli and they were all realllllly good! Plus it was super fun to try out different concoctions. If you try this meal out, I’d love to hear what kind of fun sauces you make!