Where to eat Brasucade de moules in Montpellier: 2 editor picks

Thau mussels tipped into a wide flat pan over burning vine cuttings, opened in their own liquor and finished with garlic, parsley and olive oil. Outdoor cooking, eaten straight from a paper tray.

The brasucade takes its name from the occitan brasa, embers, and belongs to the same open-fire tradition as the Camargue grillade. Vine prunings burn hot and fast and give the shellfish a resinous edge that a gas ring cannot. Mussels from the Thau lagoon are the standard, cooked by the kilo in a pan a metre across, shaken rather than stirred, and served the moment the shells open. In Montpellier the dish belongs to the Estivales on the Esplanade and to the food-truck yard at the Marché du Lez rather than to any restaurant menu.