Ingredients for 4 servings

• 4 discs of puff pastry with a diameter of 12 cm
• 2 litres thoroughly washed mussels
• 200 ml olive oil
• 1 thinly sliced onion
• 1 bunch of thyme
• 100 ml white wine
• A few parsley stalks
• 20 baby fennel bulbs
• 100 ml olive oil
• 12 black olives
• 1 red pepper
• 1 bunch dill
• 1 lemon
• 100 g butter
• 20 ml Pastis
• Salt
• Pepper

Bake the puff pastry discs between two baking sheets, at 180 °C for about 15 minutes.

Open the mussels by cooking them marinière style, with the oil, onion, thyme, white wine and parsley stalks. Strain off the juice and reduce it by half. Debeard and remove the mussels from their shells. Put to one side.

Thinly slice the sixteen fennel bulbs, lightly brown them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, taking care to keep them crunchy. When they are cooked, add a little lemon juice and the chopped dill. Place four ten centimetre baking rings on a baking sheet covered with greaseproof paper. Fill with the fennel and then top with two concentric circles of tightly packed mussels. Dab the mussels with softened butter so that they do not become dry when reheated. Sprinkle with a little Pastis and the grated zest of the lemon.

Bake the mussels at 150 °C for about five minutes (the butter should be completely melted). Garnish with a fine julienne of olives and red pepper, place a few slices of fennel in the centre that have just been tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil and add a few sprigs of dill.

Just before serving, place the mussels on the pastry discs and remove the rings. The plate can be decorated with different thinned sauces or mayonnaise, dispensed with a pipette. Serve the mussel juice separately, finished by whisking in half butter and half olive oil, and adding a little Pastis and chopped dill.