Linguine & Mussels in White Wine Sauce

light white wine dances with succulent mussels over pasta

This spring recipe will brighten your day. And, with all the rain we've had in Cincy this week - I needed this! It's light, bright, and lemony, but gives comfort only pasta can provide. Pairing mussels with white wine is an age old tradition, thanks northern Italy. So, I'm not messing with it much, or at all really.

This recipe is so simple and quick to prepare. It's the perfect mid-week dinner. I honestly think cleaning the mussels takes the most time. Before preparing this recipe, be sure to review my previous post for three key things you need to know before cooking mussels. Once you have those down, let's get cooking! Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 4
1 1/2 lbs. Mussels, cleaned & debearded
2 T Unsalted Butter

1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced
2 Shallots, minced
1 - 1 1/2 C Dry White Wine (suggest Chardonnay)
1 Box (13.5 oz) Whole Wheat Linguine
Kosher Salt
1 Lemon, zest & juice
3 T Parsley, chopped
Serve w/ Crusty Bread

Directions
Begin by cleaning and debearding the mussels. Allow them to drain as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Heat a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Add salt and the pasta just prior to adding the wine to the skillet (see below). Cook the pasta to al dente. Reserve 1 C of the cooking water before draining.

As the water comes to a boil, heat a large skillet over med-high. Add the butter, oil, garlic, and shallots. Saute for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and softened. Carefully add in the white wine. Bring to a bubble, then add the mussels. Cover and cook 4-6 minutes or until the mussels open. Discard any that don't.

Add the pasta and some of the reserved cooking water to the skillet with the mussels. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce. Add the zest and juice of the lemon, and more of the cooking water as needed, until a nice sauce forms.

Plate the pasta and mussels. Top with the parsley and serve with slices of the crusty bread (and the remainder of the wine). Mangia!

Thai Style Steamed Mussels

don't be intimidated, Thai this recipe out...

I've gone a little chef-y on you with this series - I'm featuring mussels. But, really, there isn't that much more to cooking them than say shrimp or a nice piece of fish. You just have to know how to clean and prepare them properly. There are three key things you need to know before cooking mussels:

1) You need to clean them really well - scrub them under cool running water with a hard bristled brush.

The beard: small "hairs" seen at bottom left

2) They have beards - not all of them do, but some of them will and you need to remove it. See the picture (right) where a tuft of "hair" is hanging from the mussel. All you have to do is grab it and tug it free, pulling left or right.

3) They MUST be alive - you do not want to eat a dead mussel, that can make you sick. You want mussels that are tightly shut or shut when you tap the shell. If there are any that are broken or don't close when you tap them, throw them away!!

Really that's all you need to know. Don't be afraid of them. They are much more afraid of us - wouldn't you be? We are going to eat them! So, step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Make this appetizer and impress your guests, here's how...

Ingredients - Makes 6-8 Appetizer Portions
2 1/2 lbs. Mussels, debearded & scrubbed
2 T Peanut Oil
2 Stalks Lemongrass, crushed
3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 inches Ginger, grated/minced
1 Serrano Pepper, chopped
1 Green Onion, chopped
1/2 C Dry White Wine
2 T Lime Juice
2 T Fish Sauce
1 Can Unsweetened Coconut Milk (suggest Chaokoh)
2 T Cilantro, chopped
2 T Basil, chopped
Serve: Crusty White Baguette

Directions
Begin by cleaning and debearding the mussels. Put them in a colander and allow them to drain.

Heat a large Dutch Oven over med-high heat. Add the oil, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, Serrano, and green onion. Cook for 2 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the wine, lime juice, fish sauce, and coconut milk. Cook for another minute.

Next, add the mussels. Stir to coat them with the broth and turn the heat down to medium. Cover the pot and steam for 4-6 minutes, until the mussels open. If any don't open, discard. They were dead already.

Finally, pour the mussels and the broth into a serving dish. Top with the chopped cilantro and basil. Serve with torn slices of crusty bread to soak up the best part - the flavorful broth. Enjoy with the remainder of the bottle of wine!