Ludo Lefebvre's Mussel Velouté with Curry from #SobeWFF Kitchen Aid's Culinary Demo

At SobeWFF,  I was lucky to meet and chat with Chef Ludo Lefebvre.  Everyone knows Ludo is handsome, has a sexy French accent and kills it in the kitchen.  The mussel recipe he demonstrated at the Kitchen Aid Culinary Stage will make a feast of your five senses.  It is truly extraordinary.  I apologize it has taken me so long to post this recipe, but due to the shortage of mussels I was not able to get my hands on any for a while.  As always, I want to make the dish prior to sharing the recipe in case I can pick up any tips for you along the way.

Who is Ludo?  
(This Information taken from abc The Taste Website)
 Chef Ludo Lefebvre is one of the most influential chefs in Los Angeles dining, pioneering and revolutionizing the culinary industry. After training in France for 12 years with the great masters Ludovic—or “Ludo”—Lefebvre came to Los Angeles to quickly be awarded prestigious Mobil Travel Guide Five Star Award at two different restaurants, L’Orangerie in 1999 and 2000 and Bastide in 2006. He then went to challenge the definition of what a restaurant is, by creating his uber-popular LudoBites concept, a multi-city restaurant tour. 

Ludo now carries the flag for "refined"dining in Los Angeles with his restaurant Trois Mec, which has been named both Esquire and GQ Magazines list of Best New Restaurants and topped the list for both Los Angeles Magazine and LA Weekly. Additionally Trois Mec earned the top spot on Food & Wine Magazine's Best Restaurant Dishes of the Year for 2013. Trois Mec was recently just named Best Restaurant in Los Angeles for second consecutive year by LA Weekly. In July 2014 Ludo opened his new "Bar a la carte" concept, Petit Trois, which has quickly received serious praise from LA’s top food critics. Los Angeles Times, Jonathan Gold said: “there may be no better plate of escargot in town than at the new Petit Trois.” LA Weekly’s Besha Rodell,  simply said, “the best omelette I have ever had. It is not the only dish at Petit Trois that falls into this category. Let's see, what else? The best jambon beurre sandwich. The best croque-monsieur. The best escargot.”Angeleno Magazine’s Lesley Balla called it “Petit Perfection.”

Not only does Ludo operate the best restaurants in Los Angeles, but he is quickly becoming known as a master of an American favorite, fried chicken, with his highly successful LudoBird concept that stands brightly on the main course of LA’s premiere event entertainment venue, STAPLES Center.

Ludo has been named one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Chefs” by Relais & Chateaux and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for a “Rising Star Chef” Award. Ludo also stars in the ABC hit cooking competition, The Taste, which will begin airing Season 3 on December 4, 2014.

Ludo is the author of two cookbooks, LudoBites, Recipes and Stories from the Pop-Up Restaurants of Ludo Lefebvre and Crave, A Feast of the Five Senses which first edition sold out and will be re-released in a special 10th Anniversary limited edition December 16, 2014. (This Information taken from abc The Taste Website)

Mussels Velouté with Curry

Mussel Velouté with Curry 

Recipe from Crave: The Feast of Five Senses by Ludo Lefebvre 

6 appetizer servings 

ingredients

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 cup good-quality dry white wine 

2 pounds of black mussels, scrubbed and debearded

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 

4 fresh chervil springs 

4 fresh peppermint springs 

preparation 

Melt the butter in a heavy 5-QT pot over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the wine; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the mussels. Cover and cook just until the mussels open, about 2 minutes. Stir the mussels in the cooking liquid and cook for 2 minutes longer. Discard any mussels that do not open. Using tongs, transfer the mussels to a large bowl; cover loosely to keep them warm. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer and into a large glass measuring cup; discard the shallots. Return the cooking liquid to the pot. Add the cream and the curry powder. Cover and steep for 5 minutes over low heat.  Divide the mussels and cooking liquid among 4 wide shallow bowls. Garnish with the chervil and peppermint. Serve immediately. Enjoy!