Mussels in Milk

Scrub the mussels vigorously (or scrape them with a knife) under running water to remove all the barnacles then place them on the heat in a saucepan and leave them until the shells have opened.

Remove the mollusks from the shells and set them aside.

Strain the cooking liquid through a fine cloth to remove any sand residue and keep this aside as well.

Wash the leek and slice the white part into rounds (the green part should be discarded); peel the potato and cut it into cubes.

Place these two ingredients in a saucepan with the foaming butter and sauté for a few minutes.

Bring the milk to a boil and slowly pour it over the vegetables.

Add half a liter of boiling water and the crumbled bread.

Cook for 30 minutes then strain everything or pass it through a food mill collecting the mixture in the cooking pot.

Combine the cream with the mussels and their filtered liquid.

Season with salt and pepper, add the chopped parsley and bring back to a boil.

Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread.

Then remove the 'mussels in milk' from the heat and serve them hot with the toasted bread.