Mussels in White Wine

My brother made these delicious mussels for our family as an appetizer on Christmas Day. It was really fun for me to cook with him in the kitchen yesterday. We have made these in the past but they were probably the best we've had. He seared the bread in a hot skillet with some butter until crisp so we could mop up the delicious sauce at the bottom of the dish. The mussels were so tender and flavorful, this recipe is definitely a keeper!

A tasty idea for any leftover sauce (that is, if you have any) is to toss it with some cooked pasta or noodles of some kind.

Mussels in White Wine      

Serves 4-6 (appetizer)

Mussels in White wine

ingredients

• 3 lbs mussels
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp EVOO
• 5-7 shallots, minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 oz chopped canned plum tomatoes (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads (a pinch)
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup white wine (we used Clos du bois) Chardonnay

• 2 tsp Kosher Salt & 1 tsp Black Pepper

directions

1. Clean the mussels by putting them in a large bowl filled with 2 quarts of cold water and the flour. Whisk this mixture together, then gently pour the mussels in. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain and remove the "beard" from each with your fingers (this was already done by the store, so we didn't have to do this step). Rinse the mussels thoroughly with cold water. Discard any mussels whose shells aren't tightly shut.

2. In a large non-aluminum stockpot, heat the butter and EVOO over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, saffron, parsley, thyme, wine, S&P and bring to a boil.

3. Add the mussels, stir well, then cover the pot. Now, cook over medium for 10 minutes until all the mussels are open, make sure to discard any that do not open. With the lid on, shake the pot once or twice to be sure the mussels don't burn on the bottom of the pot! That would be terrible! Gently pour the mussels into a  large bowl and serve with a buttered, warm baguette.

Note: A quick trick for amazing garlic bread, is to rub a garlic clove over the sliced sides of a baguette, brush on some melted butter and warm in the oven or on a hot skillet.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Ina Garten.