Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Mediterranean
Servings:
2
Wine Pairing Recommendations
This dish pairs exceptionally well with Sauvignon Blanc or Blanc de Noir Sparkling wines.
Prep time:
40 min
Cook time:
20 min
Total time:
1 hr
Ingredients
- 3 pound mussels
- 4 slices of focaccia bread
For the broth:
- 4 tbsps olive oil extra virgin, any brand
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 4 medium cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- 1½ cups white wine
- 2 cups canned tomatoes, diced, preferably San Marzano
- 2 tbsps lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2½ tbsps capers
- 2 tbsps Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin, ground
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp pepper or to taste
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper or to taste, ground
Instructions
Mussels to use in this recipe
You can use any kind of mussels for this recipe. Originally the recipe was made using New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussels. These are plump, juicy, and have a sweet flavor. In our home country, we substituted these with the mussels native to Pacific Northwest. They worked like a charm!
How to choose and store mussels
Irrespective of the type of mussels you decide to use, make sure you use live and in their shells mussels only.
When buying mussels, look for the ones with tightly closed shells or those that snap shut when tapped. Avoid mussels that have shells broken or cracked even when they snap shut when you tap them.
Fresh mussels must smell fresh, like an ocean. Discard the ones that have a foul smell. When you bring mussels home, you can store them either loose or in a mesh bag. Put them in a bowl or any container without a lid. Do not pour any water into the storage container, or your mussels may suffocate and spoil. Cover with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel. Mussels can be stored this way in a fridge for 3-4 days.
How to clean and purge mussels
While the mussels you buy may already be purged, for better results, we recommend you purge them for at least 20 minutes. Soaking mussels allows them to expel any extra sediment, sand, or salt lingering inside their shells.
To purge your mussels, take the mussels from the fridge, remove the wet cloth or paper towel from them, and put them in a bowl of clean cold tap water for 20 min.
Depending on the type of mussels you use, you may have to clean and debeard them too. Using a firm scrubbing brush, scrub any excess dirt or sand from your mussels’ shells. To debeard your mussels, pick one up in one hand. With your opposite hand, pull the threads towards the hinge end of the shell. This should snap them off. Don’t pull towards the opening end of the mussel shell, as this can damage the mussel.
Method
- Clean and purge your mussels. Once finished, put your mussels into a bowl with clean water and keep for another 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare focaccia and broth.
- Cut your focaccia bread into slices, thickness as desired. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil. Grill focaccia slices on a cast iron grill or skillet, for 5- 10 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your bread.
- Rub a whole raw garlic clove onto grilled focaccia. Set aside.
- Gather the broth ingredients
- Heat a large pot with a lid, add the oil, onion, and garlic and sauté with no color.
- Add all remaining broth ingredients, excluding Italian parsley, to the pot. Cover them with a lid and let them gently simmer for 5 minutes. If your mussels are ready (cleaned and purged), at this point, you can add them to the pot. If they are not ready, you can remove the broth from the fire and let it steep while you are readying the mussels.
- Drain the mussels and add them to the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and let your mussels cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat until the mussels open. If after 5 minutes, the majority of mussels remain closed, you can add extra 2-3 minutes of the cooking time.
- Once the mussels have opened, discard any that are still closed. Taste the broth for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as desired.
- Remove the mussels to a serving dish together with the broth.
- Serve with a slice of toasted focaccia bread.
Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- If you can’t find San Marzano, any diced tomatoes will do. Alternatively, substitute with 3 large fresh tomatoes.
- You can use Chardonnay, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or any other white wine for the broth. Avoid the stuff they sell in grocery stores under the label “cooking wine”. It is not what you want to put in your food.
- We recommend Nonpareil capers, but you can also use large capers. If using large capers, make sure to chop them finely.
- The Pacific Northwest mussels we use in our recipe get 40 minutes of a good soak before we start to debeard them.
Have your tried this food and wine pairing? Did you find another wine pairing that worked well with this recipe? If so, make sure to share your ideal wine pairing with our readers and us.
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