Is there anything more tempting than the smell of the sea? I know not everyone will agree but something within my soul stirs when I smell the sea. Mussels to me have the loveliest sea smell when cooking and release delicious salty liquid when they cook and release open. There are many ways to cook mussels, simple white wine, garlic and cream, tomato and basil, spicy asian style and the list goes on. Tonight my body was crazy some delicious fresh basil torn into a mix of a bit of chilli, tomato and garlic.
The method is relatively simple as are the ingredients. As with the simplest of dishes it is best to let the ingredients speak for themselves and enjoy the flavours at their premium. A packet of mussels can become a culinary masterpiece when treated with love, joy and a healthy splosh of wine!
I prefer to use pot ready mussels that are vacuumed packed as they are always consistently good. I have used fresh mussels from seafood markets and been disappointed with how chewy they were possibly from being older so I stick with what I know now as when I crave mussels I hate to be disappointed!
Cooking mussels is a quick and easy and the leftover sauce can be used as a delicious base for a seafood sauce for future pasta dishes. You don’t have to be precise in the cutting just smash the garlic and rough chop as with the basil and chilli
From here just saute the garlic and chilli, deglaze with a healthy dash of white wine, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Add the mussels and cover with a lid to cook
The mussels are cooked when they are open. To help this process ensure you stir the mussels part way through cooking. Discard any that don’t open as they may be dead and aren’t safe to eat. Then just bring to the table, tuck in with some crusty bread and a glass of good wine. Dinner is served!
