I am a huge chilli mussel fan and never thought I would taste anything that could come close, but this recipe has me cooking up a batch almost every weekend!

In a high sided saucepan combine the following:
1-2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
5 parsley stalks (not the leaves)
2 sping onions chopped finely
4-5 white peppercorns
30 grams of butter or so - usually use a bit more...

Once the butter has fully melted and the spring onions have softened add a big splash (about 1/4 cup) of white wine - you should be drinking it whist cooking anyway. Throw in your mussels - bit more than a kg I guess - and cover with a lid.

Once steaming, shake the pan lots to get the sauce over the mussels, pretend you are on masterchef and do it with some flair!

Pull the mussels out once they are opened and cooked with some tongs and place in your serving bowl.

Really quickly, throw in another lot of wine (same as before) and simmer with no lid to reduce, adding about 50 grams more butter until it thickens a bit.

Then strain the liquid onto the mussels - I don't worry with a sieve here as I like the stronger taste - and sprinkle some finley chopped parsley over the top. Serve with some nice bread and a sh*t load more white wine.

Bloody beautiful.