Moules-Frites

Method

1. Tip 400 g of mussels into a sink of cold water. Scrub the shells, pull away the beards, and knock any gaping mussel against the side of the sink — if it does not close within a few seconds, throw it out, along with any with cracked shells. Drain and keep cold until needed.
2. Peel 180 g of potatoes and cut them into chips a good 1 cm thick. Soak them in cold water for 10 minutes to wash off the surface starch, then drain and dry them thoroughly in a tea towel — wet chips will spit in the oil and never crisp.
3. Heat the sunflower oil in a deep pan or fryer to 150C, no more than a third full. Fry the chips for 6-7 minutes: they should be blond, limp and cooked through but not coloured. Lift onto kitchen paper and leave to cool while you cook the mussels.