I love mussels. When we lived in Cornwall, we used to collect our own from the rocks at low tide. One time, we were on Porthcothan Beach, and we didn't have a bag to collect them in. The mussels were huge, and I wasn't going home empty handed. We filled Tony's sun hat, and the pockets of his swim shorts, but there were some really big specimens there, and I knew they'd be delicious. I did the only thing I could - I filled my bikini top as well. There isn't a lot to fill it naturally, and it was a stretchy crop top, so there was plenty of room.
On the way back up the beach, we got talking to a couple of people who must have thought I'd had surgical enhancement until they got closer. It turned out they were staying on the camp site next to the chalet park where we lived, so they said they may call in for a drink in the bar. Before that happened, we met them in Tesco in Wadebridge, and the husband said, 'I almost didn't recognise you - you look different without your bra full of mussels.' He had a very loud voice, and everyone turned to have a good look, so it was a bit embarrassing all round.
But I digress. Here in Spain, the fish counters are heaving with mussels, and they’re very cheap - usually less than 2 Euro a kilo. This is a nice recipe with a spicy sauce which makes a tasty change from traditional mussels in garlic and white wine.
Some people worry about getting food poisoning from mussels, but there are 3 foolproof methods of ensuring you don’t eat ‘bad’ mussels. If any of your mussels are open when you get them home, tap the shell with the handle of a knife. If the shell closes, the mussel is alive and therefore safe to eat. Bin any that don’t close. When you wash the mussels, discard any that bob around on the surface of the water. Finally, any mussels which don’t open after about 5 minutes of cooking time should also be discarded.
I find that the girl on the fish counter in our local Consum sorts through the mussels for us, so we hardly have to throw any away. Last week I think we discarded three out of a kilo, which was good going.
A word about cebolletas, which are mentioned in the recipe. Cebolletas are like spring onions or scallions, but with enormous bulbs. They are not as strongly flavoured as ordinary onions, and you can use the tender green shoots as well. If you can’t get cebolletas, shallots will do nicely. Buen Provecho!
Ingredients (for 2 people as a light lunch or 4 as starters)
1 kg mussels
1 glass white wine
1 chilli pepper, chopped. (or 2 if you prefer the sauce really spicy)
4 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
2 cebolletas or shallots, finely chopped
500g large ripe tomatoes, grated
Freshly milled black pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon of fresh or freeze dried parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Wash mussels well in plenty of cold water and scrub the shells to remove debris. Pull out ‘beards.’
Heat wine in a large lidded pan, then cook mussels until most of them are open (5 minutes aproximately). Be careful not to overcook, and discard any mussels which fail to open.
Remove mussels with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain liquid through a kitchen towel in a strainer to remove any bits of sand or grit. Return liquid to pan and boil until reduced by half.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and add cebollettas or shallots, garlic and chilli peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Now add the mussel liquid and grated tomatoes and heat thoroughly. Allow to stand for a few minutes to allow flavours to blend. Taste and season with pepper if necessary.
Remove the empty half of the shell from each mussel, then stir them into the sauce until coated. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with fresh crusty bread.
