Recipe showcases Washington specialties

Sweet onions, hard cider and bacon produced in Washington, plus mussels from Puget Sound, make this dish a favorite at Whitehouse-Crawford restaurant in Walla Walla.

Serve it with lots of bread for dipping. Other sweet onions can be substituted in this recipe. To order Walla Walla onions, go to www.sweetonions.org.

Mussels in Hard Cider With Walla Walla Onion and Bacon

From Jamie Guerin, chef at the Whitehouse-Crawford restaurant

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium Walla Walla onion, cut in half, then into very thin slices

2 pounds mussels, cleaned

3 slices cooked, good-quality bacon, drained and broken into 1-inch pieces

1 cup hard cider

1/2 cup crème fraîche

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving

Melt the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until translucent.

Rinse and drain the mussels; discard any with broken or damaged shells.

Add the bacon and mussels; stir to coat with the butter, then add the cider and crème fraîche and stir to coat. Cover and cook for about 4 minutes, until the mussels have opened. Discard any that have not opened.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the parsley and stir to combine. Divide among individual wide, shallow bowls. Serve hot.

Yield: 2 main course servings or 4 side-dish servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (based on 4): 360 calories, 18 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 30 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrate, 94 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 94 milligrams sodium.