Spaghetti with Mussels in Tomato Sauce

Once I became more confident with mussels (please see my earlier post), I decided to cook them with one of my favourite ingredients – pasta. As it was in the case with Mussels in White Wine Sauce, the preparation of this mussels recipe was not too difficult but the final meal looked really impressive: as if I had spent hours in the kitchen.

In truth, this meal can be finished in 30 minutes (excluding the mussels’ preparation, please check here how to clean mussels), if everything is planned and organized properly. Once the mussels are ready to use, you should start cooking the tomato sauce. While the sauce thickens, you steam the mussels and cook the spaghetti. Then it is just a question of finishing the sauce and mixing everything together. And with that little to medium effort, you end up with a stunning and delicious meal.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 big portions):

1 kg mussels,

2 tbsp olive oil,

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped,

1 can (400g) tomatoes,

125 ml dry white wine,

200g spaghetti,

1 tbsp chopped parsley,

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Prepare the mussels:                                                                           * rinse them very well in cold water.
   * take a mussel: if it is damaged, discard it straight away and if it is open, give it a vigorous tap. If it stays open, discard.
   * if a mussel is closed (or closes after tapping), wash it and scrape off with a knife any barnacles; remove “beard” that may be between the two shells.
   * repeat the above with all the mussels.
   * rinse all of them again.
2. On a medium heat warm up the olive oil, add the chopped garlic and fry for 30 seconds, add the tomatoes and cook everything for 10 minutes. If you are using whole tomatoes (I prefer them to the chopped ones), you can simply mash them with a fork while they are cooking.
3. Put the wine and the mussels to a big pot, cover with a tight lid and steam them on a high heat for 5 minutes shaking vigorously every now and then.
4. With a slotted spoon transfer the mussels to a big bowl and keep them warm.
5. Strain the mussels’ cooking liquid through a very fine sieve (you want to eliminate any sand and grit) and add 200ml of it to the cooking tomatoes to provide extra tastes; continue cooking the tomato sauce for approx. 10 minutes till it thickens.
6. In the meantime cook the spaghetti al dente in salted water as per your packet instruction and then drain.
7. Add the seasoning and chopped parsley to the tomato sauce, and in a big bowl or pot mix with the spaghetti and mussels. If the dish is too dry, you may add a bit of the leftover mussels’ cooking liquid.

The recipe was adapted from “The New Fish Cooking Encyclopedia” by Kate Whiteman