The Chef: Frédéric Eliot

Illustration: Michael Howeler

His Restaurants: Fore Street, Scales and Street and Co., all in Portland, Maine

What He’s Known For: Doing right by Portland’s extraordinary local seafood and produce. Weaving French techniques into classic New England dishes. Celebrating Maine’s seasonal rhythms.

THOUGH THE MENU at Fore Street in Portland, Maine, changes constantly according to what’s in season, best and freshest, it’s a good bet you’ll always find mussels there. “They grow just a few miles away, on Casco Bay,” said the restaurant’s French-born chef, Frédéric Eliot. “I’m sure other French people will argue with me, but these are, hands down, the best I’ve ever had, big and sweet.”

In Mr. Eliot’s third Slow Food Fast recipe, mussels steam open along with a glug of herbal vermouth and a compound butter seasoned with toasted almonds, basil, parsley and chives. Together the seasoned butter and the vermouth form a rich broth in the pan along with the drippings from the shellfish. “They bring out a certain sweetness and nuttiness in the mussels,” Mr. Eliot said.

It all comes together pretty effortlessly, though Mr. Eliot did caution against overcrowding the pan as the mussels steam; otherwise some will overcook and shrivel while others will fail to properly firm up or even open. You’ll likely need to cook in a couple batches to keep the mussels in a single layer—no stacking.

“You want the shells to open and the meat to get plump,” Mr. Eliot said. The second that happens, pour the mussels into a bowl along with their delicious broth, and make sure there’s bread on the table to mop it all up.

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—Kitty Greenwald is a chef, food writer and the co-author of ‘Slow Fires’ (Clarkson Potter)

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