Sarasotas Creamy Mussels Over Pasta With Herb Bread Recipes

SPICY STEAMED MUSSELS WITH GARLIC BREAD

Steps:

• Brush 1 teaspoon oil onto each slice of bread. Toast until brown and crisp. Rub both sides (one side if using baguette) with whole garlic. Cut bread in half on the diagonal. Heat remaining 2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sliced garlic, scallions and salt, stirring occasionally, until scallions and garlic color slightly, about 5 minutes. Add mussels, tomato puree, wine and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until mussels open, 1 to 2 minutes. (Discard any mussels that don't open.) Uncover pan and add herbs; toss to combine. Divide mussels evenly among 4 bowls and spoon broth over them. Serve each with toast.

MUSSELS WITH HERBED BREAD CRUMBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Stir together bread crumbs, oil, cheese, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and table salt.
• Scrub reserved shells inside and out and dry thoroughly. Spread kosher salt about 1/4 inch deep in a large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan and nestle shells in salt to keep them level. Return shucked mussels to shells and top each with about 1 teaspoon bread crumb mixture.
• Bake mussels in middle of oven until crumbs are golden brown and crisp, about 7 minutes.
• Cool slightly and brush salt from bottoms of mussel shells before serving.

SARASOTA'S CREAMY MUSSELS OVER PASTA WITH HERB BREAD

Steps:

• Base Flavors -- In a large sauce pan or pot, add the butter and melt on medium high heat. Add the garlic, fennel, onion and leek and cook until slightly tender (about 4-5 minutes). Deglaze the pan with the brandy (and remember to remove from the heat when you add alcohol), then add the wine and broth, tomatoes, red pepper, lemon juice, salt (go lightly mussels have a salty quality) and pepper. Let the broth warm up and cook another 5 minutes on medium (not boiling, just a light simmer).
• Mussels -- Add in the mussels and cover. They will take around 10 minutes for that many mussels, stir occasionally. Cook until they all open.
• Just remember - Don't add any mussels to the pot that are already open (and when tapped, they don't close), and if they are cracked, toss them.
• Finishing -- As the mussels cook, toast up the bread and slather with the herb butter and a dash of the paprika. Cook the pasta according to directions (angel hair takes only minutes).
• Mussels -- Finish the mussels by adding in the parsley, chives and cream. Keep on medium and cook another minute or two until the sauce is warm. Stir to get all the flavors mixed throughout.
• Serving -- Just serve the mussels in a large serving bowl with all the broth. Make sure each person has a bowl for their pasta and plenty of the broth from the mussels and crunchy bread to soak up all that flavor. OUTSTANDING!
• NOTE: As one reviewer mentioned they didn't make the bread, but did suggest that you do. The pasta and bread is key for this. It is a thinner sauce almost like a Japanese noodle bowl so the pasta and bread are used to soak up all the sauce and flavors. Even though it is creamy, the sauce is thinner which is why the bread and pasta are key for this.

SARASOTA'S CREAMY CELERY

Steps:

• Celery -- First, when cutting the celery, cut lengthwise and then cut in 1" pieces. This allows for quicker cooking.
• Then, in a medium saute pan, simmer the celery in the vegetable broth, covered, for approximately 12 minutes until tender.
• Sauce -- Drain the celery, but reserve the broth. Put the celery back in the pan and cover to stay warm as you make the sauce.
• In a small sauce pan, add the butter and melt on medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux and mix well for just a minute to get rid of the flour taste. Slowly whisk in the reserved broth and the cream. Keep on medium heat, you don't want it to boil. Continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Finishing -- Add the celery back in the sauce, parsley and cook another minute, check for seasoning once again and ENJOY!
• Serve -- This is a great comforting side dish which goes well with anything.

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 CREAMY HERB SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream, sage, thyme, rosemary, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium and cook until the cream has thickened slightly and is reduced to about 1 cup, 12 to 15 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove from heat until the pasta's ready.
• When the cream is at the halfway point, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until a minute or 2 shy of al dente. About 3 minutes before draining the pasta, add the greens to the water. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta and greens with a colander and return to the pot.
• Place the just-used colander over the pot of pasta, then strain the infused cream through the colander into the noodles. (Discard or compost the herbs and cinnamon stick.) Add the 1/2 cup pasta water to the pasta, set over medium-high heat, and cook, tossing, until the sauce glosses the noodles, 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

CREAMY PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND HERBS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 2 cups pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• In the same pot, make the sauce: Add ricotta, Parmesan, olive oil, pepper and a large pinch or two of salt, and stir until well combined.
• Add 1 cup pasta water to the sauce and stir until smooth. Add the pasta and herbs, and continue to stir vigorously until the noodles are well coated. Add more pasta water as needed for a smooth, soupy sauce. Taste and add more salt if needed.
• To serve, spoon the pasta into bowls and finish with more Parmesan, olive oil and pepper.