Clam Chowder... with mussels!

Cooking the potatoes:

1. Prepare the potatoes, with the skin on, boil or steam about 12 min, without overcooking, since they will continue to cook in another step. Peel the potatoes then cut them into ½ cm thick slices.

Cooking the bacon and onion:

2. Finely chop the bacon then fry in a nonstick pan until crisp. Set aside on a paper towel to absorb the excess fat.
3. Clean the pan with a paper towel and put it back on the stove. Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat and cook the chopped onion, taking care not to burn it. Sauté 4 min then set aside.

Cooking the mussels:

4. Carefully rinse and brush the mussels to remove any sand. Drain. Discard any mussels that stay open, even after being tapped.
5. Put the mussels in a pot with about 1 cm of water. Cook over medium heat, covered, 7-8 min. All the mussels will be open. Take them out and set them aside. Filter the liquid through a sieve to remove any bits of shell and sand. Set the liquid aside.
6. Put the pot back on the stove, add the butter and melt over low heat. Add the flour and cook 2-3 min stirring constantly so that the roux remains white. Slowly pour in the milk, with continuous stirring, then pour in the filtered mussel liquid. Cook and stir until a creamy consistency is obtained. Add the fried bacon, onion, and cooked potatoes, then cook an additional 5 min.

Final step:

7. Take advantage of these last 5 min to discard most of the mussel shells, keeping some for decoration. Also remove and discard any unopened mussels. Put all the mussels back into the pot, then cook 4 min until heated through. Season with pepper and salt, if necessary. Serve hot.