While working on developing a recipe for the Sustainable Seafood Blog Project I visited the seafood department of my local Whole Foods. If you read the SSBP post you know I pay particular attention to where my seafood comes from as well as how it was caught. I found these fresh, east coast mussels had just arrived on one of the days I shopped and knowing how much my man Dan loves mussels I grabbed a bag to steam for dinner that night.
I suppose it could be intimidating to think of cooking mussels in your own kitchen, but don’t go there. It is one of the easiest recipes to prepare at home and much more cost effective than ordering mussels in a restaurant. A bag of mussels from your local seafood monger makes a quick, tasty and easy meal for two or appetizer course for a few diners. Be sure to grab a loaf of fresh, crusty bread for dipping in the wine sauce – that’s the best part. Buy good wine – one that you enjoy because you’ll have plenty left over to pour with dinner.
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup dry, crisp white wine
- 3 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley, curly or Italian
- In a large pot with a tight-fitting lid, warm the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the shallots and garlic.
- Saute until soft, making sure they don’t brown, about 2 minutes.
- Raise the heat to high, add the white wine and bring it to a boil.
- Add the mussels, cover the pot and steam until the shells open, 5-9 minutes, stirring once or twice while cooking.
- Do not overcook.
- Discard any mussels that haven’t opened.
- Add the parsley, stir and ladle the mussels and the broth into serving bowls.
- Serve at once.
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