Thursday, April 16, 2009

Time for a Recipe...

After all of the cookbook chatter of yesterday, I felt it was time again for another recipe, and no, it's not from one of my cookbooks. Simple and easy is the name of my game, usually and this definitely qualifies. Enjoy.

Zuppa di Mussels

1 lb live mussels, cleaned and debearded
2 TBS olive oil...NEVER EXTRA VIRGIN
2 TBS Butter
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 TBS chopped onion
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
1/4 cup crushed tomatoes or left over tomato sauce
3/4 cup white wine
1 TBS fresh Italian parsley

Soak mussels in cold water, scrub with veggie brush and pull off and discard beard (hair-like feature on seam of shell). Any mussels that do not close, or are broken, discard. In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, add oil and melt butter, add garlic, onion and red pepper flakes and cook until onion is transparent. Add tomatoes or sauce and stir until well combined. Add cleaned mussels and white wine. Cover with tight fitting lid and lower heat to medium. Cook approximately 10 minutes or until all shells are open. Discard any mussels that did not open.

Serve 1 of 2 ways...Pour into a bowl with liquid and serve with crusty bread OR pour over spaghetti and enjoy.

4 comments:

Samantha said...

Just curious... why never Extra Virgin?

Julie Weaver said...

Extra Virgin olive oil is for salad dressing and dipping, it's not good to cook with because it burns easily. The taste also overpowers the food. It should stand alone.

One Maid A' Milking said...

Yeah, well, you lost me at the hair.

Rule #342: If I have to remove hair from my prospective dinner, I'm not eating it.

Samantha said...

Ah, good to know. Spoken like a true italian chef. :)