Happy New Year!
It may seem like half the population is sipping on a kale smoothie right now, or at least it does if you spend enough time online, but let’s not forget that it’s mighty cold in many parts of the world (feels like -20°C in my ‘hood), and that a big ol’ pot of mussels steamed in a white wine + tomato sauce is actually the trick to a fabulous January.
Mussels are so much fun to cook with. Besides a little bit of upfront cleaning (like 5 minutes for a few pounds of mussels), they require almost no effort and are fun to pair with all sorts of flavours. Today’s recipe is a classic and a great place to start if you haven’t cooked mussels before, but they can also serve as a blank canvas for whatever ingredients you have on hand.
The only thing to keep in mind when you’re cooking with fresh mussels is that they should be sealed shut before cooking. Tap them gently on the counter if they’re a little bit open to see if they’ll shut. Toss any that are cracked or remain open. Mussels should be alive up until you cook them so seeing them tightly closed is a good sign.
For this recipe, onion and garlic are sautéed until sweet and fragrant, white wine and diced tomatoes are added to make up the liquid base, and finally, capers, dried herbs and fresh parsley finish the sauce for that extra little oomph of flavour! The mussels are then tossed and steamed in the sauce, where they perform a mutually beneficial exchange. The sauce flavours the mussels and in return the mussels release their juices to flavour the sauce. Huge win-win! My favourite part is soaking up all of that delicious broth with a fresh baguette.
Enjoy!
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