Midye Dolma

The rice goes in raw and the shells are packed so tightly against each other that they hold themselves shut.

Shellfish. Not vegetarian — contains shellfish.

Ingredients

the mussels

• 2 kg large mussels, in the shell

the filling

• 250 g short-grain rice
• 3 onions, very finely chopped
• 60 g pine nuts
• 60 g currants
• 150 ml olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• a large bunch of dill, chopped
• a handful of parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar

to cook and serve

• 400 ml hot water
• 2 lemons

Method

1. THE RICE GOES IN RAW AND THE SHELLS ARE PACKED SO TIGHTLY AGAINST EACH OTHER THAT THEY HOLD THEMSELVES SHUT. Nothing ties them. Each mussel is prised open along its straight edge without separating the halves at the hinge, filled with a teaspoon of raw rice mixture, closed, and then wedged into the pan against its neighbours -- standing on edge, in tight concentric rings, packed hard enough that none can open. As the rice swells over forty minutes it pushes outward, and the pressure of the surrounding shells is the only thing holding each one closed. Loosely packed, they all spring open and the pan becomes rice and mussels in water.
2. THEY ARE FILLED ONLY TWO-THIRDS FULL. Raw rice roughly doubles. Filled to the brim, the shell is forced open from inside however tightly it is packed, and the filling escapes. Two-thirds looks mean and is right.
3. THE HINGE IS NEVER BROKEN. The knife goes in at the straight edge opposite the hinge and the shell is eased open like a book. A mussel whose hinge has snapped is two loose shells and is useless -- set it aside and eat it another way.
4. A PLATE GOES ON TOP AND IS WEIGHTED. An inverted plate over the packed shells with something heavy on it, for the whole cooking time. It is the second half of the same principle: pressure from above as well as from the sides.
5. THE WATER IS POURED IN AT THE SIDE AND BARELY COVERS THE BOTTOM LAYER. Four hundred millilitres for two kilos, down the side of the pan rather than over the shells. The mussels give out a great deal of their own liquor; more water and the filling is watery and the flavour is diluted.
6. IT IS COOLED COMPLETELY IN THE PAN UNDER THE WEIGHT. At least three hours, weight still on. The rice sets and firms, and the shells stay shut. Opened hot, the filling is loose and falls out; cold, each one is a neat packed parcel eaten by using the top shell as a scoop.
7. THE CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS GO IN WITH THE RAW RICE. Currants soaked and drained, pine nuts dry-toasted first. They are not optional: the sweetness and the resinous crunch against the sharp lemon is the whole balance of the filling.
8. The mussels scrubbed and bearded. Any already open or broken discarded.
9. The pine nuts DRY-TOASTED until golden. The currants soaked 10 MINUTES and drained.
10. The olive oil heated and the onions softened 15 MINUTES without colouring.
11. The RAW rinsed rice stirred in with the spices, sugar and salt and cooked 2 MINUTES.
12. Taken off the heat; the pine nuts, currants, dill and parsley stirred through. Left to cool.
13. Each mussel prised open along the STRAIGHT EDGE, the HINGE LEFT INTACT.
14. Filled TWO-THIRDS FULL with the raw mixture and closed.
15. PACKED TIGHTLY on edge in concentric rings in a wide heavy pan, hard enough that none can open.
16. AN INVERTED PLATE laid on top and WEIGHTED.
17. The hot water poured in DOWN THE SIDE and brought to a simmer.
18. Cooked, lid on, over a LOW heat 40 MINUTES.
19. LEFT TO COOL COMPLETELY IN THE PAN UNDER THE WEIGHT, at least 3 HOURS.
20. TESTED: the shells should still be shut and the rice cooked and firm. Sprung-open shells mean loose packing or overfilling.
21. Eaten cold with a hard squeeze of lemon, the top shell used as a scoop.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Turkey · All recipes