If you don't have leftover rice on hand, cook a batch of rice and spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet.

Top mussels with parsley and serve with lemon wedges alongside French fries and Dijon mayonnaise dipping sauce.. About this recipe.Moules Frites, a Flemish dish consisting of steamed mussels served with French fries and Dijon mayonnaise, is so popular that it is considered to be the national dish of Belgium.

This dish is also beloved in neighboring France, where it gets its etymology.The mussels come from Belgium's North Sea; they are often eaten in the winter months when fresh fish is scarce.While you can eat this dish in restaurants throughout the region, preparing moules frites at home is easy to do and can be achieved in under an hour..

When buying mussels, look for ones that are clean, with an outer sheen.They should smell fresh and like the sea.

Most mussels at the market are farm-raised, and have been cleaned, but you should rinse your mussels to remove any dirt or debris.

Also check that they have been debearded, which means the fibers from the opening in the shell have been pulled out; simply pull them out with your fingers if any remain..Place the ball pinched side down on the prepared sheet.

Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, spacing the balls 1 1/2 inches apart.Loosely cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.. Preheat the oven to 400°.

Brush the tops of the rolls with the melted butter.Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden and cooked through, shifting the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking.