Mussels

Rinse the mussels under cold running water and scrub the shells to get rid of any unwanted seaweed or grit and debeard as necessary.
Check that all the mussels are alive and discard any open or dead. (You can tell if they’re dead by pressing together the open shell, and if it doesn’t stay closed, it’s dead.)
Peel one shallot and one clove of garlic, then thinly slice. Place a large pan over a high heat and allow it to get hot.
Add the mussels, shallot, garlic, fish stock and white wine to the pan, quickly cover with a lid and cook until all the mussels are open (roughly 2-3 minutes).
Transfer the mussels into a clean bowl and cool quickly over icy water. Once the mussels are cool, remove the meat from the shells, discard the shells and place the meat in a clean bowl.
Strain the mussel liquor through a sieve over the mussel meat, cover and place it in the fridge immediately. Peel the remaining shallot and garlic clove, finely dice and finely chop the parsley – keep all to one side.

Garnish

Rinse the Jersey Royals in a bowl of lukewarm water, scrub the skins with a scourer until completely clean. Place the potatoes in a medium-size pan and cover with water. Place the pan on medium heat, add a good pinch of salt and bring to a simmer.
Simmer until just tender (roughly 10-15 minutes). Once cooked, allow to cool naturally in the water and keep to one side.
Remove the root from the barba di frate with a sharp knife and discard. Place the leaves in a bowl of icy water and wash carefully. Don’t submerge them for longer than 30 seconds at a time.
Repeat the process until there is no

Visible grit is left in the water after removing the barba di frate. Dry carefully in a salad spinner and place on a kitchen towel. Keep to one side.
Cut each preserved lemon into quarters and carefully remove the flesh from the skin. Keep the flesh for another use. Cut the skin of the preserved lemon into fine strips and keep it to one side.
Leeks: if you have a professional steamer pan, please use it. Otherwise, half fill the bottom of the steamer saucepan with water and bring to the boil.
Remove the outer layer of the leeks and wash well to remove any dirt. Cut them into 1cm rounds on the bias and place them into the steamer part (not yet slotted into the saucepan bottom). Season the leeks with sea salt flakes and sit for a minute.
Place the steamer onto the saucepan and cook until tender (roughly 5-7 minutes). Remove from the steamer, put into a bowl and cover, allowing them to cool naturally until serving.

Serving

if you have a professional steamer pan, please use. Otherwise, half fill the bottom of the steamer saucepan with water and bring to the boil. In the meantime, place a medium pan on the heat and add the cultured butter.
Once it’s melted, add the finely diced shallot and garlic, sweat down with a pinch of salt without browning for 2 minutes. Add the mussel cooking liquor and reduce until thickened.
Remove from the heat whilst you put the brill on to cook. Season the brill fillets with the seaweed salt and steam for 4 minutes, add the barba di frate to the steamer with the brill and cook for a further 2 minutes.
While cooking, place the mussels, Jersey Royals and parsley into the sauce and gently warm. Once the mussels are hot, spoon equally into 4 warmed bowls along with Jersey Royals and the mussel liquor sauce.
Place the brill carefully on the garnish and top with the barba di frate. Finally, sprinkle over the preserved lemon and serve immediately.