Moules frites – About 30 million tons of moules frites are eaten every year in Belgium (that’s 3kg a person), in a season that runs from September to February. The most common way to cook them is in white wine, shallots, parsley and butter (la marinere) although other recipes replace the wine with Belgian beer, add cream (la crème), or use a vegetable stock.The traditional accompaniment to mussels is frites (what Brits call chips and Americans call French fries). According to historian Jo Gerard, the Belgians invented frites, way back in 1781. Frites are thicker than French fries and very crisp because, like traditional English chips, they’re fried twice.
