mussels with leeks & chilli

mussels with leeks & chilli 
serves 2

I’ve recently  discovered pot  ready  mussels at  the  fish market  which come packed live and are scrubbed, debearded and ready to cook. They last for a few days in the fridge.
The secret to cooking mussels is to treat each one as an individual. When the first mussels have opened pop them in a prewarmed bowl to wait while you keep cooking their more hardy sibblings.

1 leek, white part finely sliced into rings
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled  & finely  sliced
3-5 large red chillis, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup dry white wine
1kg mussels, scrubbed & debearded

Cook leeks in 2 tabelspoons olive oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan. Stir occasionally until leeks are meltingly soft.
Add chilli and garlic and cook for another minute. Increase heat to high, add wine and bring to the boil. Add mussels and cover with a lid. Cook for 3 minutes. Give the pot a shake and remove lid. Fish out any opened mussels and place in a large bowl. Cover the pot
and keep cooking for another few minutes. Shake and again remove any opened mussels.
Discard any that haven’t opened at this stage and return the opened mussels to the pot to warm through. Divide between 2 bowls. Great with some crusty bread or even some hot salty fries.