Mussels in a Boréale Noire Sauce au Gratin

Ingredient

• 341 ml (1 bottle) Boréale Noire beer
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 leek (white part only), sliced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• To taste pepper
• 1 kg (1 bag) mussels, washed and cleaned
• 15 g (1 tbsp) all-purpose flour (or corn starch)
• 250 ml (1 cup) cooking cream 15% m.f.
• 125 g (¼ lb) emmenthal cheese, grated

Preparation

1. Bring beer to a boil in a saucepan. Add vegetables and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add mussels and cook, covered, stirring a few times until mussels open. Dispose of any closed mussels.
3. Remove mussels and keep 30 ml (2 tbsp) of cooking juice. Remove mussels from shell and set both aside.
4. Heat cooking juice. Combine flour and cream and add mixture to warm cooking juice. Beat until thick, for about 5 to 8 minutes.
5. Heat oven to 200°C (400°F). Place half shells on a baking sheet and arrange one mussel over each. Add 15 ml (1 tbsp) of sauce obtained in preceding step and sprinkle with some grated cheese. Broil, making sure mussels don't burn.