A Love Affair with Mussels….

My love affair with mussels started exactly when my love affair started with my husband. 😉 He took me to a restaurant in the city named Spain and they brought a plate of mussels to the table that were covered with a tomato/onion vinegar mix that was so yummy and had me hooked from the moment I took my first bite. So, when I came across a recipe from my favorite 💜 The Barefoot Contessa 💜  from her cookbook ” How Easy Is That ” I just had to try it out and it has quickly become one of our new favorite ways to eat mussels. I did have to switch it up a bit to suit the fact that my husband and I are the only mussel lovers in the house, but if you want to make it for a crowd definitely go check out her recipe on foodnetwork.com.

Here is what you will need:

Breadcrumb Mix

• 3 slices of day old bread – cut into cubes. I like to use leftover semolina or ciabatta bread.
• ¼ cup of olive oil.
• 2 garlic cloves – chopped.
• 1 tablespoon basil.
• 2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
• ¼ cup of pine nuts.
• Juice of 1 lemon.
• 1 teaspoon salt.
• ½ teaspoon pepper.

Mussels

• 1 bag of mussels.
• 1 cup white wine.
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Here is what you need to do:

Cut bread into cubes and toast in oven at 250 degrees until dried out and toasty.

Clean your mussels, making sure to discard any that are cracked or open and won’t close up when you touch them.

When your bread cubes are ready, add them to a food processor with the olive oil, garlic, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, lemon, salt and pepper.

Just wanted to share two of my favorite things to keep in the house, that not only work great in this dish, but a whole bunch of others.

Grind all the ingredients together and then set aside.

Next, bring the wine and olive oil to a boil and throw in your cleaned mussels. Give a good mix, cover and simmer until mussels are cooked and open. If there are any mussels that don’t open, pick them out and throw them away.

Toss in your breadcrumb mixture and give it all a good toss.

Serve it up in a big bowl with crunchy bread and a whole lot of napkins.

&…

Enjoy!!

xoxo

Jill 💜