Directions

1. Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter bubbles, but before it gets brown add shallots, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low.

2. Cook this mixture until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3. At this point add 2 cups of a dry white wine. Bring the heat back up and let the liquid come to a boil.

4. Once it boils, bring the temperature back down to low, and reduce it for a few minutes.

5. Once a little viscosity is built in, add the saffron to the pot. Then remove the pot from the heat and cover it with a lid. You want to keep all that saffron essence inside your pot. You can also do this hours in advance, letting the broth wait at room temperature and re-heat it at serving time.

6. When you are ready to serve whisk 1/3 cup of Dijon mustard into the prepared broth. Bring this to a simmer (not a boil).

7. Add the clean and de-bearded mussels to the pan. Turn the heat up a bit, cover the pot and cook about 2 minutes, quickly remove the pan from the heat. The mussels should have opened up and look spectacular! Toss in a few tablespoons of chopped parsley and give it a good grind of black pepper.

8. Serve immediately…