Heh, get it?? Mussel?

Anyways…

I’ve got a new recipe for you guys! I threw this together last night and it was a huge hit. No leftovers sort of success. And it was simple. Because, this is me. And I tend to love simplicity in my kitchen mid week. I have a confession: I’m not much of a pasta person. Generally speaking, pasta more than once every other week or so is considered too much for me, but when I do pasta, I don’t mess around. Maybe because of my general aversion to the carby overload, I feel the need to up the dish on the nights I give in. Last night was no exception.

Mussels cooked in white wine and transferred to  my full proof tomato sauce to become a marinara to toss some spaghetti into, and served with a glass of wine sounds as beautiful as it is. For those that aren’t fans of the smooth, fishiness that is bivalve molluscs may want to either reconsider their tastes, or skip this recipe. (But I’m always in favour of open mindedness when it comes to eating, so I suggest you jump on in there. Keeping in mind obvious allergy awareness, of course.)

mussel

  • 1-2 cups of white wine
  • mussels (frozen or fresh)
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely diced
  • spaghetti (or gluten-free alternative)
  • crushed tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • fresh parsley (optional for finishing touch)

In a medium pot over medium heat, add olive oil. Once warmed, add garlic and let brown- roughly 3 minutes. Pour in 1/3 cup of white wine and allow to reduce for several minutes before adding crushed tomatoes and balsamic. Stir to combine and add tomato paste. Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to simmer for about 20 minutes. (I used a fork/masher to help puree the tomato chunks to a thicker consistency). In a deep saucepan add cleaned mussels and remainder of white wine. Cover with lid and put on high over the stove until steam rises from the edges of the pot and then reduce heat to medium low to simmer. Mussels shouldn’t take long to cook, roughly 4-6 minutes but you want to keep an eye on them so you can toss out any mussels that remain closed. Drain the mussels, keeping a 1/2 cup of the wine broth. Return the mussels to the same big saucepan and pour your tomato marinara over them, keeping it all over low heat. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta to desired doneness. Drain pasta (option to keep 1/2 cup of the pasta water to add to your marinara if you feel like taking some of that thickness away), and toss pasta with mussels and marinara in the saucepan. Serve and top with chopped fresh parsley, and dig in!