Mussels in Spicy White Wine Sauce

Got some crusty baguette at home? You should try it out with some mussels in spicy white wine sauce. This elongated shelled mollusca is best eaten steamed in wine sauce. While mussels in white wine sauce is a somewhat common dish, this recipe adds some spiciness to it which you are bound to love. It is easy to make, the hardest part being the time spent in cleaning the mussels. There are different methods of doing this. My method is to soak the mussels in cold water for 30 minutes. Then I use a sponge kept for this purpose to scrub the shells and take out any hanging beards. After scrubbing, I rinse and place it  in cold water for another 30 minutes. This way any sediments in the mussels will fall to the bottom of the dish. Now that we have our mussels ready, lets make this quick and easy meal.

INGREDIENTS:

(1) About 2 Pounds of Mussels

(2) 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

(3) 1 Teaspoon Butter

(4) 1 Small Shallot (Minced)

(5) 2 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)

(6) 1 Bay Leaf

(7) 1/3 Cup White Wine

(8) 1/2 Teaspoon Chili Flakes (Use less if you like)

(9) 1 Hand Full of Parsley (Minced)

(10) Hand Full of Cherry Tomato (Halved) (Optional)

(11) 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Zest

(12) Salt and Pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

(1) Mince shallot, garlic and parsley finely

(2) Heat oil. Add minced onion, parsley, garlic and bay leaf. Saute for 3 minutes.

(3) Add white wine, chili flakes and seasoning with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add cleaned mussels and cherry tomato if using. Cover pot and allow to steam for 5 minutes.

(4) After 5 minutes, the mussels would have opened. Take off heat, add butter and grate in lemon zest. Stir and serve hot with some baguette. Enjoy.

NOTE: The rule when dealing with mussels is this: (1) If any mussel remains open after cleaning, toss is away. It is most likely dead. Tap the shell a few times with your fingers just to make sure. (2) If any mussel remains closed after cooking, toss it away. It was most likely dead before you cooked it.