← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 2 kg live mussels
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 Red chilli, thinly sliced (optional)
• 250 g Cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 1 bunch Parsley, chopped
• Black pepper
• crusty bread, toasted, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Scrub the mussels under cold water and pull off the hairy beards. Tap any open ones on the counter; throw away any that don’t close, and any with cracked shells.
2. Warm the oil in a very large, lidded pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute until fragrant but not brown. Add the tomatoes, if using, and cook for 3 min until they soften.
3. Turn the heat to high, tip in the mussels and pour over the wine. Cover and cook for 4–5 min, shaking the pot now and then, until the shells have opened.
4. Throw away any mussels that stay closed. Stir in the parsley and a good grind of pepper; the mussels are salty enough on their own.
5. Ladle into bowls with plenty of the juices and serve with toasted bread to soak them up.

Tips

• Live mussels should smell of the sea; cook them on the day you buy them.
• The bread is optional; leave it out or use gluten-free bread to keep the meal gluten-free.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano RecipeTin Eats