Is There Enough Liquid In The Dutch Mussels?

Our answer

Nigella's Dutch Mussels combines beer, fennel and butter as a base on which to cook the mussels. There is 75ml (5 tablespoons) of beer, but on top of this there is 45g (3 tablespoons) of butter and the fennel itself will let out a little liquid as it softens. All of this gives enough liquid to be able to steam the mussels.

The mussels themselves also give out a fair amount of briny juice as they open and cook. If you start adding extra liquid at the start, the flavour from the mussels will be diluted. So for us, the combination of the initial ingredients plus the mussel juices gives the best balance of flavour and volume, with enough broth for two people to dunk bread into.