Black Pepper Mussels Recipes

BLACK PEPPERED MUSSELS

Steps:

• Place the mussels in a medium skillet. Grind half of the pepper over mussels. Cover, and place over high heat. Cook until the mussels open, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. If there is not enough liquid released from the mussels it may be necessary to add a few tablespoons of water to steam the mussels.
• As soon as the mussels have opened, transfer to a serving bowl. Grind remaining pepper over mussels. Serve with lemon wedges and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately.

BLACK PEPPER MUSSELS

Steps:

• Put mussels and 1/4 cup water in a large skillet. Season with 1 teaspoon pepper. Cover, and cook over high heat, stirring once, until mussels open, 2 to 3 minutes. (Discard unopened shells.)
• Transfer mussels to a serving bowl. Season with remaining teaspoon pepper, and drizzle with oil. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

BLACK PEPPER MUSSELS

Steps:

• Put the mussels and 1/4 cup water in a large skillet. Season with 1 teaspoon pepper. Cover, and cook over high heat, stirring once, until the mussels open, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard unopened shells.
• Transfer the mussels to a serving bowl. Season with the remaining pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and serve with lemon wedges.

BLACK SKILLET MUSSELS

Steps:

• Heat a large cast-iron or heavy steel skillet over high heat for about 5 minutes, or until a few drops of water dance across the surface. Add the mussels to the skillet in one layer (your pan may fit more or less than 1 1/2 pounds; use only as many as will fit comfortably or use 2 pans).
• Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels begin to open. The mussels are done when they're all open and their juices have run out and evaporated in the hot pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately, in the pan.
• Variations
• Black Skillet Clams or Oysters: This dish can be made with hardshell clams-littlenecks, cherrystones, or quahogs-or with oysters. (Softshell clams, or steamers, are too sandy for this treatment.) Be sure to wash the shells of any of these mollusks very well and discard any whose shells are open or cracked. As with the mussels, they are done when their shells open.
• To add a slightly different flavor:
• When the mussels begin to open, add 4 cloves of crushed, peeled garlic to the pan, shaking the pan as directed.
• Gently melt 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter in a small saucepan. (If you like, add Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste, along with the juice of a lemon.) Serve it alongside the pan of mussels. To eat, remove a mussel from its shell, dip into the butter, then rub up some of the dried juices from the bottom of the skillet.
• Mussels
• Every year, we see more and more cultivated mussels, most often from Prince Edward Island, which is fast becoming the mussel farming capital of North America. These are easy to clean (almost clean enough to eat without washing, but still worth a quick going over), with very few rejects and plump meat. Wild mussels are far tastier but harder to clean. When cleaning mussels, discard any with broken shells. If the mussels have beards-the hairy vegetative growth that is attached to the shell-trim them off. Those mussels that remain closed after the majority have been steamed open can be pried open with a knife (a butter knife works fine) at the table.

MUSSELS WITH BLACK PEPPER

Steps:

• 1 Soak the mussels in cold water 30 minutes. Cut or pull off the beards. Discard any mussels with cracked shells or that do not close tightly when touched. 2 Pour the oil into a large pot. Add the garlic. Cook over medium heat until golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the parsley and pepper. Add the mussels, wine, and lemon juice to the pot. Cover and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. 3 Transfer the opened mussels to serving bowls. Cook any mussels that remain closed a minute or two longer. Discard any that do not open. Pour the cooking liquid over the mussels. Serve hot. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.