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Fast & Easy Dinner: Steamed Mussels in Tomato Broth

partysugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:50:36 -0700

If you think mussels are a fancy and complicated dish only to be enjoyed at French-style bistro restaurants, this recipe will have you thinking again. Mussels are actually incredibly simple and quick to make. All you have to do is simmer them in a fragrant liquid - here it's a combination of garlic, ripe tomatoes, and white wine - until the shells pop open. Serve with a mixed green salad and chunks of crusty bread for mopping all the savory, briny juices. To experiment with this rewarding meal, which comes together in minutes, get the recipe and read more.

Steamed Mussels in Tomato Broth
From Eating Well

Ingredients

3 pounds mussels
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
6 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped 
1 cup dry white wine  
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

To clean mussels, scrub them with a stiff brush under cold running water. Scrape off any barnacles using the shell of another mussel. Pull off the “beard” from each one. Set aside.
Warm oil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes.
Add tomatoes, increase the heat to high and stir for 1 minute more. Pour in wine and bring to a boil.
Add mussels, cover and steam, occasionally giving the pan a vigorous shake, until all the mussels have opened, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard any that do not open. Transfer the mussels to a serving bowl. Spoon the broth over the mussels and sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4.

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Name That Dish!

YumSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:00:05 -0700

If you're a fan of eating saffron mussels, chances are, you'd also like this similar preparation. Are you able to name it?

Care to Flex a Saffron Mussel?

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:15:10 -0700

I love just about everything from the sea. and mussels are no exception. Mussels are great during the Summer because they are quick to cook and require little prep work.Topped with a saffron sauce, these mussels are scrumptious. Saffron is an expensive spice, but it's packed full of flavor and a little goes a long way. When eating mussels, I enjoy the sauce, so I increased the sauce-to-mussel ratio. While the original recipe doesn't call for carrots, their addition adds both crunch and sweetness, which complements the creamy sauce and salty mussels. Don't forget to pick up a baguette to serve with the mussels: my guests were practically licking their bowls clean! To get started on this simple yet decadent dish keep reading.

Monday's Leftovers: Mussels, Linguine & Red Pepper Sauce

YumSugar — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:50:26 -0700

If you've got a half an hour to spare, you can make time this Monday evening to have an epicurean feast with your loved ones. Impress them with a modern twist on the old Italian standby, linguine with clams. Switch up the traditional marinara sauce with a roasted red pepper purée, and use leftover mussels for a familiar replacement to clams. Serve with al dente pasta and a glass of Italian white, and you'll be looking at the new family favorite when you read more.

Mussels With Linguine In Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
From Every Day With Rachael Ray

Ingredients

Salt
Two 9-ounce packages fresh linguine
One 12- to 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and halved
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup dry white wine
One 14.5-ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
Black pepper
36 mussels (about 2 pounds), debearded

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
While the pasta is working, using a food processor, puree the roasted peppers.
In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the wine and reduce for about a minute, then stir in the pureed peppers and the tomatoes; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Add the mussels to the pan, cover tightly and cook until the shells open, about 5 minutes (discard any unopened mussels).
Divide the mussels among 4 large, shallow bowls and spoon a little sauce on top. Using tongs, transfer the cooked pasta from its water to the sauce in the skillet and toss to coat. Pile the pasta alongside the mussels.

Serves 4.

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Sunday Dinner: Mussel Gratin

YumSugar — Sun, 17 May 2009 06:00:27 -0700

You may have noticed that mussels are having a bit of a moment. If tasting the sheer flavor of the sea isn't reason enough for you to eat these briny bivalves, also remember that they're both incredibly affordable and a surefire sustainable seafood option.

Mussels are often served in a white wine broth or flavored with chorizo, but I love the unusual idea of them starring in a gratin. You'll learn how to execute this creative preparation when you read more.

Mussel Gratin
From Gourmet

Ingredients

4 pounds mussels (preferably cultivated), cleaned and steamed, then shucked
2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded, and halves cut into sixths
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 oz)
2 large garlic cloves, 1 minced and 1 halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
15 (1/3-inch-thick) slices from a baguette
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss together mussels, tomatoes, basil, crème fraîche, cheese, minced garlic, salt, and pepper in an oiled 3-quart (about 13- by 9 1/2- by 2-inch) baking dish.
Rub 1 cut side of each bread slice with halved garlic and arrange bread, garlic side up, over mussel mixture in baking dish. Brush tops of bread with oil.
Bake gratin in middle of oven until bread is golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.
Serve mussels spooned over garlic toasts.

Serves 6 as a main course.

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7 Surefire Sustainable Seafood Options

YumSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:50:42 -0700

Though organic produce has been at the forefront of the food movement over the last handful of years, sustainable seafood has only recently gained much-needed attention. Fishing practices for some of America's most popular seafood choices (salmon, eel, Chilean sea bass) are putting seafood populations in peril, interrupting aquatic habitats, and causing damaging water pollution. I'll be the first to admit that it can be hard to keep track of what seafood is and isn't environmentally sound to eat, since it depends on the way it's caught and where it comes from. For those in question, you can always refer to the Seafood Watch, an advisory that will tell you what's OK to eat and what's off-limits. Don't forget these seven surefire seafood options that are, for the most part, always sustainably sound.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Mussels With Sherry, Saffron, and Paprika

partysugar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:50:50 -0700

When you need a meal in a hurry, turn to shellfish: most kinds (mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp) only need 10 minutes to cook. In this recipe, mussels are steamed in a fragrant sauce seasoned with shallots, tomatoes, saffron, and paprika. Serve with crusty bread for mopping the broth, a crisp green salad, and a glass of chilled white wine. It's a luxurious meal that won't break the bank - perfect for ringing in the weekend!

Get the recipe when you read more.

Mussels With Sherry, Saffron, and Paprika
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced shallots (4 to 5 large)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 cup dry Sherry
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
3 dozen mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add Sherry, tomatoes with juice, paprika, and saffron; sprinkle with salt and generous amount of pepper. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium; boil gently 3 minutes to blend flavors. Add mussels and half of parsley; cover and cook until mussels open, about 3 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open). Stir in remaining parsley.
Divide mussels and juices among bowls and serve.

Serves 2.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Spicy Mussels and Chorizo

partysugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:45:15 -0800

Every year, the night before Thanksgiving, I like to treat my family to a luxuriously delicious dinner. I usually choose a dish (like pasta or seafood) that is simple to make, not too rich, and has nothing to do with the traditional flavors of Thanksgiving.

Tonight I'll be serving up a huge pot of mussels. The plump shellfish is cooked in a fragrant broth of crushed tomatoes and white wine. Spanish chorizo provides a spicy meatiness to the sauce that is so scrumptious you'll want to lick the bowl!

To get the recipe - I'm pairing mine with crusty bread and a green salad - read more.

Spicy Mussels and Chorizo
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

s3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
2 cups dry white wine
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes with juice
4 ounces dried, hot chorizo, cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices
1 teaspoon coarse salt teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Heat oil in a large, heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add shallot; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.
Add wine; bring to a boil. Add tomatoes and chorizo. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add mussels. Cover, and continue to cook, shaking pot occasionally. Cook over high heat, stirring once, until mussels open, 2 to 3 minutes. (Discard unopened shells.) Stir in the parsley. Transfer mussels to a serving bowl. Serve immediately with crusty bread for sopping up the juices.

Serves 4.

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Mussels Myths Debunked

YumSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:15:36 -0700

When preparing mussels most people abide by the rule that any mussels still closed after cooking should be thrown away. However, some scientists claim this is simply an old wives' tale and that the rule is actually a myth. Nick Ruello, an Australian fisheries biologist, cooked and ate more than 30 batches of mussels for a seafood report. Of those mussels, 11.5 percent were still closed after cooking, but Ruello found he could safely eat each one of them after forcing the mussels open with a knife.

The abductor muscles in live mussels keep the two halves of the shell together. When the shellfish are cooked, the heat denatures the proteins of (pardon the pun) mussels' muscles, so they come unstuck from their shells. However, even if the abductor muscles refuse to disintegrate in the heat, the meat has been cooked at a high enough temperature that it is safe enough to eat.

The one exception? If mussels are open before they've been cooked (and don't close up tightly when tapped), then they're dead, and not fresh enough to eat under any circumstance. Have you ever pried open a cooked mussel that was closed shut? Will this new piece of information change the way you eat the shellfish?

Source

Would You Rather Eat Mussels or Clams?

partysugar — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:30:43 -0700

Source