One of my favorite recipes seafood pasta recipe is this one, pasta with steamed mussels. Delicious, easy to make, full of sea flavor and umami.
If you want to bring to your kitchen a sea breeze then you have to try this delicious and full of sea flavor pasta. The only thing that might get you tired is cleaning the mussels. You can replace them with frozen mussels without the shells. But it won’t be the same. Do you agree with me? Of course you agree, without the shells it won’t be the same.
How to prepare the mussels
In order to prepare your mussels you have to be cheerful and full of energy. While, there has to be in the room plenty of running tap water, a knife and a wire sponge to clean them. You have to have in mind three things:
- Mussels that remain open during their preparation must be thrown away. Why? Because they no longer live. Alive mussels that are sage to be consumed should be closed.
- Anything on the mussel shell should be removed. It is likely to find something like white rocks on the shell. These should be removed with the help of a knife. Prefer a knife that is not too sharp so as not to cut yourself. While, by using a wire sponge rub the shells of the mussels, on mussel at a time.
- Another step in order to clean the mussels is to remove the beard. You should pull the beard in the opposite direction of the hinged edge, otherwise it will break off and the rest will stay inside the mussel.
Tips for the recipe
In this recipe it is very important to clean the mussels properly. No one wants to eat with a forkful some sand.
Before start making the dish, read the recipe and be sure to understand when to make each move. It is important to organize the steps in our mind since the sauce should be ready at the right time.
Pasta with steamed mussels
Ingredients
- 500 gr spaghetti
- 1 kg mussels, with their shell
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- ½ chilli pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ tsp pepper flakes
- 100 ml white wine
- 100 gr butter
- freshly ground pepper
- parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Clean the mussels thoroughly under running water as described above. That is, remove whatever is stuck in the shell with the help of a knife and a wire spogne. Also, remove the bread of the mussel.
- In a large pot add 5 lit of water and bring to boil. Add 2 tbsp of salt and after 1 minute the spaghetti.
- Chop finely the chili pepper, the garlic and the onion. Finely chop the parsley and set aside.
- In a large pan add water, enough to cover the bottom, around 250-300 ml. After boiling add the mussels and wait 3-4 minutes until all is opened. If someone doesn't open throw it away.
- Remove the mussels and by using a cheesecloth drain the water left in the pan. Do not skip this step because the mussels may had sand in their inside.
- Set aside 150 ml of the water and add the rest to the pot where the pasta boils.
- In the same pan, over medium heat, add the butter. Once melted, sauté chili pepper, garlic, onion and pepper flakes.
- After 3-4 minutes add the wine. Stir and wait 2-3 minutes in order the alcohol evaporates.
- Add the 150 ml of the mussels water, freshly ground pepper and stir. I prefer not to add salt since the mussels water is salty enough.
- Before adding the mussels back in the pan, check the spaghetti. We should add the mussels back in the pan 3 minutes before adding the spaghetti. Remove the majority of the sheels and just add hte flesh, otherwise it will be difficult to properly stir the pasta.
- After adding the mussels and the parsley. Stir.
- Add the spaghetti to the pan and stir. Do not drain the spaghetti since the water carried on them will thicken the sauce.
- Serve with freshly ground pepper and finely chopped parsley.
So this is one of my favorite recipes when it comes to seafood pasta. Spaghetti with steamed mussels, a dish that brings summer and sea breeze to your kitchen.
Extra attention should be paid to the preparation of the mussels. And please do not use frozen mussels without the shells. I know that is an easy solution but this dish totally worth the cleaning.
The pasta with steamed mussels, as well as the recipe for baby octopus with pasta, are a perfect solution in order not to break your fast during Lent. I ‘ll be happy to hear from you, so please do not hesitate to comment below or contact me on Instagram, or Facebook or Twitter!
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