Mussels in a Tomato-Garlic Wine Broth
Well, after a really long break getting my house in literal order, I have time to start creating and posting! Our house needed a much-needed purge of “stuff.” So while I still have tasks to get completed, most of the purging is completed for now and I can focus my efforts on a bit more variety. Now that the world is starting to open up, we have started to venture out a bit more, within reason, and were able to enjoy the 4th of July holiday with close friends. We were bringing a few things but at the last minute, I realized that I had a sack of mussels that I had intended to make for dinner the evening before. The mussels would not have made it another night so I added another dish to our seafood feast for the day, and I am glad I did!
I’ll admit when I wrote it out as a recipe, I wrote it “properly,” in the way I would have made it had I not been rushing. However, I am going to explain here what I actually did as it was even easier and it tasted great! What made me want to share it here was the teenagers, who were at the gathering, loved them! Now, teens that live on Cape Cod are used to eating various seafood and shellfish, but these teens were not from around these parts which made it a much better compliment. Actually, I had also made steamers. A recipe, which is not mine, that my husband Rob calls a “religious experience” and well, it was not the same experience for the others. The mussels were favored by a long shot!
Because we had to travel a bit and I didn’t want to be spending my day in the kitchen, I quickly grabbed ingredients, chopped what needed to be, and tossed everything into a large zip-lock bag, sans mussels, which got placed into the cooler. I then poured the contents into a stock pot and brought it to a boil and steamed the mussels as I wrote in the recipe. So easy!!
The great thing about mussels is that while they are seafood, they don’t taste overly “fishy” or like the sea like other shellfish do. They have a light sweetness to their firmer flesh, unlike their squishier clam cousins, and they also have this wonderful umami (savory) profile. They remind some folks of mushrooms apparently. I don’t think they are anything like mushrooms but maybe that is because I can’t get past the texture of them cooked, but I digress, you can decide for yourself.
This pot of 2 pounds of mussels was perfect to share as an appetizer for a group of 8-10 people, but it could easily be a great main dish by putting it over pasta, farro, or other favorite grain. If you’re a mussel fan you can have this dish prepped and on the table in less than 20 minutes. If you’re not a fan, you just might be afterward if you give this a try!
Recipe Card
Note: I highly suggest having a digital scale in your kitchen. It takes the guesswork out and makes baking recipes a lot more successful. All of my recipes are written in metric weights. If you do not have a scale and need to convert a recipe or ingredient to volume, you can use the buttons to the right and copy /paste the recipe into the handy recipe conversion tool or the single ingredient conversion.
Mussels in Garlic-Tomato Wine Broth
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse mussels in cool water removing any beards or detritus. USe a scrub brush if needed. Keep cool until ready to cook.
- Melt butter with a splash of olive oil in a stockpot or dutch oven large enough to hold the mussels, giving them plenty of room to not be crowded. 6-7 quarts.
- Add the diced shallots to the butter and let cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes, and wine and give it a good stir to combine.
- Place a cover on the pot and allow it to come to a boil.
- Add the mussels onto the top of the tomato mixture. Do not stir them in.
- Put the lid back on and allow them to steam for 5 minutes or until all the mussels open.
- Add fresh herbs of your choice and toss mussels with the broth mixture thoroughly.*
- Put the lid back on and let it sit for a few minutes until you're ready to serve.
* Notes (if you see an * please check here):
*Using a ladle so the broth mixture can really get into the shells is helpful.