Mussels a la Plancha

This is my new favorite way of cooking mussels. This is as simple as a recipe gets but it is very good.
I prefer cultivated P.E.I. mussels but chaque un a son gout as they say in Quebec.
A la plancha means on the griddle or skillet.

You will need about a kilo of mussels or less depending on how many you are feeding. Much more and you should do two batches, otherwise it will become unmanageable.

Take a large cast iron or other type of skillet and get it quite hot. Hot enough so that drops of water will dance across the pan when dropped on it.

Put one quick swirl of olive oil in the pan then drop in all the mussel at once. It works best if there is only the one layer of mussels but don't worry if you have a double layer. It will work fine but you might have to stir them up as they cook.

The mussels will cook in their own juices and will open as they cook. A couple of times, shake in a bit of salt and pepper mixing them up each time.

When all the mussels are open, squeeze the juice of a couple of limes all over them and serve them in the pan you cooked them in.

You might want some melted butter to dip the mussels in if you insist but, I don't really think you need it.