Green-lipped mussels in New Zealand

Earlier this year, my husband Reg and I, took a cruise around the coastline of New Zealand and one of my favourite places we visited was the area of Marlborough.

Of course, the immediate reason is because it’s where so much of New Zealand’s famous Sauvignon Blanc comes from, like the popular Cloudy Bay. But that’s a story all of it’s own. What I really want to tell you about here is the delightful little town of Picton and the unusual mussels I discovered there.

Picton is on the South Island of New Zealand and it’s nestled at the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound. It’s a picturesque, small fishing village built around a sheltered harbour full of sailing boats. Picton’s supposed to have the best weather in NZ (but not the day we were there!) and one fifth  of the coastline is on your doorstep. The Marlborough Sounds are full of amazing marine life including five species of dolphin, Orca, visiting hump back whales, fur seals and blue penguins, not to mention the rare and endangered saddleback.

But I digress, back to the mussels. These molluscs, known as green-lipped mussels or kutai to the Maori, are indigenous to the area. They’re unusual for a number of reasons. They have a surprising bright, iridescent green colour and when they have their shells closed, they look like big green lips. Green-lipped mussels are also much bigger than normal mussels, so there’s a lot more meat to them, but it’s still delectably sweet & tender.

Not only are they super tasty, there are also quite a few health benefits to them too. In New Zealand they’re considered a super food. They’re rich in anti-inflammatory, omega-3 fatty acids and contain rare, furan fatty acids, which act as powerful antioxidants. These properties are known to improve arthritis, osteoarthritis and asthma.

This was more than enough reason for me to be curious what they taste like! We didn’t have far to go to discover an enchanting little bistro that served these remarkable mussels.

They certainly lived up to their promise – large, yet sweet and tender. The bistro served them in an utterly delicious coconut cream sauce and the ciabbata bread served alongside them was perfect for slurping up the extra sauce.

So when I got home, I just had to try making a similar dish. Unfortunately though, Reg isn’t a big fan of mussels so I thought it best to add some prawns so there was more for him to eat – of course this meant more mussels for me!

Here’s how my green lipped mussels turned out as well as my recipe that you can try at home: Mussels and prawn in coconut and white wine.

Bon appetit!