I went to the Dekalb Farmer's Market, easily one of my favorite places on earth, to find me some delicious fresh mussels. While I would like to call myself a foodie, I definitely had what my brother tells me often a blonde moment while in the seafood section and this one was foodie related. I thought I would pay the extra dollar a pound to purchase the Prince Edward Island mussels while never understanding what PEI stood for on menus next to the mussel dishes. While wondering out loud what was so special about this island of princes, I still wasn't able to put the two together until my brother so kindly pointed it out. Maybe this isn't something I should admit on a food blog, but I pride myself on being honest. Anyway, after spending $6 on 2 pounds of mussels (told you they were cheap), I gathered the rest of my ingredients:
1 large shallot
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes with juice
4 ounces of chorizo sausage (I used fresh sausage but you could also use cooked bacon or dried sausage for a crunchier taste)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley for garnish
First you must clean the mussels and take off the "beard" of the mussel. I usually just run the mussels under cold water and brush off any particles stuck to the outside of shells as you don't want any crunchy ocean remnants in your food. Also throw out any mussels with broken shells and ones that are dead on arrival as it is important to cook them alive. If the mussel is open and you tap on the shell a couple times and it doesn't close in the next couple minutes, then it's dead. Then, if there is a brown rough patch of seaweed sticking out from the inside of the mussel you will need to remove it. This is called the beard. Just take hold of it and pull down to the bottom of the mussel until it comes out.
Once the mussels are clean, put them back in the fridge as you want them to be cold when they hit the pot!
One of the best things about mussel dishes is the bread. The bread is a way to sop up the delicious broth that we will create. I just used a baguette from the farmers market, added a little butter, and popped it in the oven for a few minutes to brown and crisp up and it was ready to dip!
Mince the garlic and shallots.
Cook the sausage in the casing to get a good sear and then chop it up once it is two thirds of the way cooked, about 7 minutes on each side, and continue cooking for another couple minutes. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat and then add the shallots. Cook the shallots for a couple minutes until they are tender and then add the garlic and red pepper flakes.
After the garlic has cooked for a minute or so, add the two cups of white wine and bring to a boil.
Once the wine is boiling, add the tomatoes and the chorizo and bring to a simmer. You want the wine to cook out in order to eliminate the raw wine taste. Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat and stir occasionally. The sauce should reduce by about half during that time. If you taste the sauce when it first starts cooking and then after the 15 minutes, you will notice a huge difference. Less bitter and more flavorful. While tasting, season the sauce with salt and pepper as needed.
Now turn the heat to medium and add the mussels! Stir them a little to make sure they submerge in the sauce then cover for 5-10 minutes. The mussels are ready when most of the shells are open. There might still be dead mussels that you didn't catch which are the ones that didn't open after cooking. No big deal, just don't eat them.
Now serve with the bread and make sure you get a lot of that sauce in the bowl and garnish with the chopped fresh parsley!
Bon Appetit!
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