Mussels Pasta Recipes

MUSSELS AND PASTA WITH CREAMY WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes.
• Place mussel meat in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
• Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Gently warm the mussels until they release their water, about 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
• Wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Melt remaining 3 teaspoons butter in the skillet. Cut any large mushrooms into smaller pieces. Add to the skillet and sprinkle with pepper. Cook until starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour wine into the skillet, add red pepper flakes, and cook until wine has reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in cream and add mussels. Heat until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Use tongs to lift linguine out of the pot and add to the skillet with some of the cooking water. Toss to coat with sauce. Plate and garnish with lemon zest.

PASTA WITH MUSSELS AND SHRIMP

Steps:

• Butterfly the shrimp: Peel the shrimp, then cut along the curved side with a small sharp knife, about three-quarters of the way through. Devein the shrimp and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer; cook until slightly thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as the label directs for al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain.
• Add the mussels to the tomato sauce, cover and cook until they just begin to open, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is cooked through and the mussels have opened fully, 2 to 4 more minutes. (Discard any unopened mussels.)
• Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to coat, stirring in enough of the reserved cooking water to loosen the sauce. Divide among bowls; top with the parsley and celery leaves.

PASTA WITH MUSSELS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Pulse tomatoes with juices in food processor just a few times to break down into a coarse purée; set aside. Bring large pot of water to boil for pasta.
• Meanwhile, in a wide skillet or saucepan with lid, combine crushed garlic clove and shallot with white wine. Bring to a boil and add mussels. Cover and cook, shaking pan from time to time, 2 to 4 minutes, or until mussels open up. Check mussels after 2 minutes; transfer open mussels to a bowl using tongs. Cover pan again, wait another minute, and repeat until all mussels have opened.
• Leave mussels to cool in bowl until easily removed from shells. Remove half from shells and leave other half intact. Taste a mussel; if it is sandy, give them all a very quick rinse and drain in a colander. Transfer to a bowl and keep covered while you make tomato sauce.
• Place a strainer over another bowl, line with cheesecloth and strain the liquid in the pan into bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup. Rinse and dry pan.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat in pan and add minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes, thyme or marjoram (or both), and sugar.
• Turn heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring often, 5 to 10 minutes, until tomatoes have cooked down slightly. Add 1/2 cup broth from mussels, stir together and bring to a simmer. Taste and add salt as needed (you may not need to add any). Tip all mussels, shelled and unshelled, into sauce, cover and turn heat to very low or remove from heat if not serving right away. Keep warm while you cook pasta.
• Warm a large bowl for the pasta. When water for pasta comes to a rolling boil, salt generously and add pasta. Cook al dente, following the directions on the package. Drain and toss in the warm bowl with tomato sauce, mussels and parsley. Serve right away.

MUSSELS WITH PASTA

Steps:

• Rinse the mussels and drain thoroughly. Put them in a heavy-bottom kettle and cover closely. It is not necessary to add liquid. As the mussels cook, shake them in the kettle to redistribute them. Let steam 3 to 4 minutes or until the mussels open. Uncover.
• Line a bowl with a fine sieve and line the sieve with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Pour the liquid from the kettle into it; there should be almost 3/4 cup. Set aside. Empty the mussels into a flat dish and set aside.
• Drop the tomatoes into a basin of boiling water and let stand 9 seconds. Drain and, using a small paring knife, pull the skin from each. Cut away and discard the core from each. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes. There should be about 2 1/4 cups.
• Bring about 10 cups of water to the boil and add salt to taste.
• Meanwhile, put the oil in skillet and add the garlic. Cook briefly without browning and add the tomatoes. Cook about 2 minutes and add the reserved mussel liquid, hot red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes and add the cream. Bring to the boil and add the mussels with any accumulated liquid. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Stir in the basil.
• Add the linguine to the boiling water and cook 10 to 12 minutes to the desired doneness. Drain and add to the mussels and serve.

PASTA WITH SPICY MUSSELS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
• The following step is optional, but it works really well.
• After you’ve given the mussels a quick scrub and pulled off any of the beards, place them in a large bowl filled with cold water and several ice cubes.
• Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the water, toss in the squeezed halves, and add the heaping tsp of salt.
• Allow mussels to sit for about ½ an hour, and they will “spit” out any sand or other stuff that might be inside their shells.
• (This is an old Neapolitan trick my husband’s mother used for all shellfish).
• After about ½ hour, drain mussels, give then a quick rinse under come running cold water and set aside while you make the broth.
• Preheat large skillet over medium heat, and add olive oil.
• Next add the minced shallots, and sauté for a minute or two.
• Add the sliced garlic, and crushed red pepper to taste, and sauté for another minute, careful not to let the garlic get too brown.
• Slowly add the fish stock.
• (If using wine and stock, add the wine first, bring it up to a boil and then add the fish stock) Let the stock simmer for a few minutes with the shallot and garlic, and then add the diced tomatoes.
• When sauce comes to a boil, add the mussels to the pan, give then a quick toss, and put the lid on and let stem for about 3-5 minutes.
• Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 7 minutes, or until done to your liking.
• When mussels have all opened, turn off the heat, give them another stir to get all the liquid up from the bottom, add the fresh basil and put the lid back until the pasta is finished.
• Drain pasta.
• To Serve: Unless you have an enormous pasta-serving bowl, here’s what I suggest.
• Add a couple ladles of the cooking broth in the bottom of your serving bowl and add about half of the pasta.
• Scoop out about half of the mussels with broth and lay over top the pasta until bowl is filled.
• Add the remaining pasta back into the skillet with the rest of the broth and mussels.