Cold And Creamy Mussel Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs small mussels (about 48, fewer if they are large mussels)
2/3 cup water
2 cups plain yogurt (nonfat or low-fat)
2 -3 teaspoons dijon-style mustard, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons Pernod
1 1/2 cups finely diced cucumbers, peeled if waxed

Preparation

Prepare mussels by debearding and rinse them well. Place them in a pot that has a lid. Add the water, cover, and bring to as boil over high heat. Steam the mussels for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they open and are just cooked. They should be tender.
Remove mussels from the cooking pot with a slotted spoon and set them aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through several layers of cheesecloth and reserve one cup of it (freeze the rest for other uses).
Remove the meat from the shells and discard the shells.
To prepare the soup, whisk the yogurt in a large bowl until it is smooth, then stir in the cup of reserved cooking liquid, mustard, sugar, pepper, 4 teaspoons of the tarragon, and the Pernod. Add the mussel meat. Chill the soup; add the diced cucumber before serving and serve in shallow bowls, each garnished with 1/2 teaspoons of the remaining tarragon.