Instructions: Mix the wine, bouquet garni, and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. After youve scrubbed and debearded the mussels, as needed, drop them into the saucepan, cover, and shake them over high heat until they open - just a few minutes.

Drain them through a sieve lined with coffee filters, catching the broth underneath.

Ladle some of the broth into a bowl with the saffron in it - and let sit to make a strong infusion.

Shell the mussels.

Cut the leeks and carrots into fine slivers (so that theyre easy to eat with a soupspoon).

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the slivers and cook covered on medium low heat, letting them sweat until tender. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the saffron infusion, the cream, the Tabasco sauce, and season to taste. Let bubble for some 5 minutes, then reduce heat.

Mix a ladleful with the beaten egg yolks, to make a liaison, then stir back into the pot and let thicken over a low heat for several minutes.

When the soup has thickened, stir in the mussels and let warm in the simmering liquid for a few minutes. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each with finely minced tarragon.

Serve hot to 4 as a first course to an elegant meal.

Comments: Dont be afraid of picking up those plastic bags full of mussels at the grocery - the mussels are clean, often debearded, and whip up into a smashing soup in no time. This Breton soup, for example, is pretty easy and quick for being such a showstopping beauty. And its no wonder: the north coast of Brittany, from which this soup came, is so thick with these shellfish, you can just run down to beach and pick them fresh from the rocks.

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