Pickled mussels (muscleres en escabetx)

Instructions

1. Heat the wine, bay leaves and 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) of water in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the mussels and cook, covered, for 4–6 minutes, until the shells just begin to open. Immediately remove the mussels from the pan and set aside. Leave any unopened stragglers in the pan a little longer to see if they’ll open. If they don’t, remove and discard. Keep the pan juices simmering until reduced to about 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) of liquid. Strain into a small bowl and set aside.
2. Once the mussels are cool enough to handle, separate them from the shells, snip out the beards with a pair of scissors and place the mussels in a non-reactive bowl with the onion, carrot and garlic.
3. Combine the sherry vinegar, thyme, salt, sugar, pimentòn and reserved mussel juice in a non-reactive bowl and set aside to completely cool.
4. Pour the pickling liquid over the mussels and refrigerate for 4–6 hours or overnight.
5. To serve, drizzle the pickled mussels with a little oil and scatter over some chopped parsley leaves, if you like. Enjoy with crusty bread for mopping up the juices. Any left-over mussels will keep in the fridge for 10–14 days if completely submerged in the pickling liquid.