Chillie Mussles in White Wine Broth (Cozze in bianco alla Marinara)

Chillie Mussles in White Wine Broth (Cozze in bianco alla Marinara)

Ingredients

serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main

  • 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

  • 200 ml ( 7 oz ) of white wine

  • 2 garlic cloves, 1 whole, 1 finely chopped

  • 4 spring onions (shallots), roughly chopped

  • two handfuls of parsley, leaves roughly chopped, stalks finely chopped

  • 1 red chillie, finely chopped (de-seed if you don’t like it too hot)

  • 1 kg (2.5 lbs)of Mussles

  • Toasted sourdough for serving

How to

  1. Clean the mussles by pulling out the beards and by scrubbing the shells to get rid of any grit. Place them in a bowl and set aside.

  2. Discard any mussles that are already open or that have a broken shell.

  3. Heat up the oil in a large heavy-sided frying pan. Fry the spring onion, whole garlic clove, parsley stalks and chillie for 1 minute, than add the chopped garlic and cook together for a further minute or until the garlic turns blond and smells fragrant. Pour in the wine and continue sizzling over high heat for 1-2 minutes or until the alcohol has evaporated.

  4. Drop the shells in and cover with a fitted lid.

  5. The steam will start opening the mussles in 2-3 minutes.

  6. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set them aside in a bowl as they open, to avoid overcooking. Discard any that refuse to open. Taste for salt and add some if you feel so inclined. I hardly ever do as the muscles and the liquor they release when cooking are pure sea-water nectar.

  7. Pour the stewing liquid on top of the mussles, serve with toasted bread (crusty loaf ) and consume while still hot.

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