Skipper Sam Laurenson shares why these marvellous molluscs are his superfood of choice.

<p>While the rest of us get an extra forty winks, Blueshell Mussels’ skipper Sam Laurenson is already up and at ’em. Sam’s day starts at 6am, here on the Shetland Islands, as he heads out on his boat with his crew of two trusty deckhands.</p>
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<p>When he first joined the family business, Sam’s passion for these juicy little morsels wasn’t what it is today: ‘Only when I was in my early 20s did I actually start to enjoy eating mussels, for a long while I was very put off by their texture,’ he recalls. Sam, who is in his 11th year with Blueshell, is a vital cog in ensuring <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/prawns-mussels/asda-tasty-cooked-mussels/1000309139394/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_mussels-meet-the-tastemakers&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">quality mussels</a> hit Asda’s stores up and down the country. ‘I’m a skipper and my main job is driving boats and harvesting mussels. I also contribute to hiring new staff, writing policies and procedures and the HR aspects of the business,’ says Sam.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
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<p>It was Sam’s father, a fisherman by trade, who founded the business in the late 90s. After what was a challenging period in the industry, he took his existing skills and turned his attention to the developing world of mussel farming; a world that Sam, who’s now 30, has grown up with. ‘When I was little, I didn’t want to be a mussel farmer – it just wasn’t of any interest to me – I wanted to be a shark keeper!’</p>
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<h2>LEARNING THE ROPES</h2>
<p>Sam decided early on: ‘I was probably seven or eight years old, and it was in the early mussel farming days when you had to make up the mussel droppers [the ropes that the mussels attach to]. It would involve manually putting plastic pegs on a rope to hang from the lines and I’d get two pence per peg. I thought this would be a great way to make some money in the summer. Within about 20 minutes I gave up – I had earned 30 pence and I went home crying because I was cold and bored,’ Sam laughs. Luckily, the process has moved on since then…&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Later on, Sam started studying to become an architect, a far cry from a career on the water. ‘I went to university for six months – and realised I wanted to be outside, working with my hands. Mussel farming seemed like a good choice – I developed a passion for the product and a real enjoyment of the job. Seeing Shetland at its best – and worst – was quite exciting,’ Sam says. While he has been working under his father, it wasn’t plain sailing: ‘I had to earn my place. It wasn’t a given – if I wanted my job, I had to try my best.’ Sam speaks of his father and the business with pride. ‘Nothing that he has managed to build has been given to him – he’s had to put in the time and make the mistakes along the way. The company’s main value is hard work – something I try to harness.’</p>
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<h2>HOMEGROWN BEAUTIES&nbsp;</h2>
<p>And while mussels are a good value, easy-to-cook and nutritional powerhouse of a food, the process of harvesting them is something that many of us would admit to knowing very little about. It certainly requires a great deal of patience as, amazingly, Sam shares, it can take up to two years to grow the perfect mussel.&nbsp;</p>
<p>‘So, the mussel starts from virtually nothing – miniscule spat – which start as larva and feed on plankton to grow. We hang rope that’s been specially designed to catch them and to which they naturally attach – through no input other than their own. If we could actually make the spat attach, then we’d be very wealthy!’ jokes Sam.</p>
<p>This process of trial and error and learning what rope to use and the best areas to farm – Blueshell has over 60 sites across Shetland – is what makes for success. Once the spats have grown into mini mussels, they’re then carefully moved to an area with a different environment where there’s more feed and better water flow, which helps the mussels plump up nicely, resulting in a higher ratio of delicious meat.</p>
<p>It’s a long process that sees Sam and the team go through many quality checks along the way, looking for ways to reduce damage and waste and ultimately producing a better mussel.</p>
<p>‘My job is to make sure that the product is the correct spec for Asda and the customer. We want to ensure we have good size shells, so I’ll do a lot of checks throughout the day to ensure the mussels are still within the correct size range and that biofouling from things like barnacles is kept to a minimum,’ explains Sam.</p>
<p>In the early days, everything was done by hand, but now the team has machines that pull up the ropes from the water and another machine that carefully strips them off.</p>
<p>From here, they go through a declumping process to separate them before they make their way through a washer to remove any debris. Any damaged or undersized mussels are taken out before they’re then sent to Scottish Shellfish, a grower co-operative where they are prepped and packaged before they hit your local Asda.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>While Sam’s love of mussels has grown over time, you can see the immense sparkle in his eye when he talks about the business and how he spends his days. ‘I love mussels– they’ve provided a livelihood for me and my family. Mussels are one of the few things that we can produce and sleep easy, knowing we haven’t contaminated the water. Our process is to just let nature do its thing and to focus on promoting and growing a quality product that Asda customers love, using the best methods possible.’ Aye, aye to that, skipper!&nbsp;</p>
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<h2>FANCY SHELLING OUT ON A MUSSEL OR TWO?</h2>
<p>Shellfish isn’t for everyone but once you give it a go, we guarantee you’ll be well and truly hooked! Our gorgeously garlicky <a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/garlic-mussel-tagliatelle-with-roasted-tomatoes?recipe_id=43d8f160-2d4c-11ef-ba45-f12b67956d34" target="_blank">Mussel Tagliatelle with Roasted Tomatoes, Lemon and Parsley</a> is a startlingly simple pasta dish, perfect for the summer months and a great tester dish to see if mussels are the mollusc for you. If you’re entertaining, why not try a sophisticated starter of <a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/baked-mussels-with-pepperoni-sourdough-crumbs?recipe_id=5e825a11-2d4c-11ef-ba45-613b4ea721f0" target="_blank">Baked Mussels with Pepperoni Sourdough Crumbs</a> to impress your guests? They’re not as fiddly as they might first appear… Or if you’re craving a seaside classic, what could be better than a steaming hot bowl of <a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/moules-frites-with-cider-and-leeks?recipe_id=7f8324b2-2d4c-11ef-ba45-df7edf873d8c" target="_blank">Moules Frites with Cider and Leeks</a>, with lots of lovely broth for dipping hot, salty chips in? And if you love a good dunk, break out the crusty bread for this <a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/mussels-tomato-red-pepper?recipe_id=384edd53-2aff-11e9-8802-7daf07a34f81" target="_blank">Mussels with Tomato and Red Pepper</a>. Serve in the early evening sun for the ultimate impact. Cheers!</p>
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<h3 style="text-align:left;">GARLIC MUSSEL TAGLIATELLE WITH ROASTED LEMONS AND TOMATOES</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/garlic-mussel-tagliatelle-with-roasted-tomatoes?recipe_id=43d8f160-2d4c-11ef-ba45-f12b67956d34" target="_blank">View recipe</a>&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Serves:</strong> 4 <br><strong>Ready in:</strong> 20 mins <br><strong>Recipe info:</strong> 1 of your 5-a-day, Live Better Approved, Faff Factor 1/5</p>
<p>This Italian-inspired dish brings holiday vibes with every bite! The freshness of the lemon and parsley offsets the richness of the tomatoes and the mussel meat for a truly heavenly combo.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align:left;">BAKED MUSSELS WITH PEPPERONI SOURDOUGH CRUMBS&nbsp;</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/baked-mussels-with-pepperoni-sourdough-crumbs?recipe_id=5e825a11-2d4c-11ef-ba45-613b4ea721f0" target="_blank">View recipe </a>&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Serves:</strong> 8 as a nibble, 4 as a starter <br><strong>Ready in: </strong>30 mins <br><strong>Recipe info:</strong> Faff Factor 3/5&nbsp;</p>
<p>Whether you’re looking for a quirky canapé or a showstopping starter, these baked mussels will earn you serious creds, perfect for prepping ahead and popping in the oven when your guests arrive for the ultimate wow-factor moment.&nbsp;</p>
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<h3 style="text-align:left;">MUSSELS WITH TOMATO AND RED PEPPER</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/mussels-tomato-red-pepper?recipe_id=384edd53-2aff-11e9-8802-7daf07a34f81" target="_blank">View recipe </a>&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Serves:</strong> 4 <br><strong>Ready in: </strong>30 mins <br><strong>Recipe info:</strong> 2 of your 5-a-day, Low Fat, Low Salt</p>
<p>The tinned cherry tomatoes bring a lovely sweetness to this rustic stew with the chilli and tarragon offering a wonderfully rounded flavour. And thanks to the red peppers, it even counts as two of your 5-a-day. Pass us another slice of ciabatta…&nbsp;</p>
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<h3 style="text-align:left;">GARLICKY MOULES FRITES WITH CIDER AND LEEKS</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/moules-frites-with-cider-and-leeks?recipe_id=7f8324b2-2d4c-11ef-ba45-df7edf873d8c" target="_blank">View recipe </a>&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Serves:</strong> 2 <br><strong>Ready in:</strong> 25 mins <br><strong>Recipe info:</strong> 2 of your 5-a-day, Faff Factor 2/5, Source of Fibre</p>
<p>This Belgian classic comes complete with oodles of creamy, garlicky sauce that can either be slurped like soup or – the best way! – used for dunking hot, salty chips into. Or both! If you find removing the mussel meat with a fork tricky, instead use an empty mussel shell as a pincer. It works like a charm!</p>
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<p>Feeling inspired to give some of these delicious recipes a go? Stock up on everything you need at <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_mussels-meet-the-tastemakers&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda.com</a> or pop into <a href="https://storelocator.asda.com/" target="_blank">your local store</a>.</p>

Mussels - Meet the Tastemakers

By Asda Good Living,1st July 2024

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