Italian Steamed Mussels Recipes

Steps:

• When you bring your mussels home from the market, discard any that are chipped, broken or otherwise damaged; discard any mussel that is open.
• If you are not using right away, cover with damp paper towels in a container that can be tightly closed and store in the refrigerator.
• Just before cooking, wash the mussels in several changes of cold water.
• Using a small knife or a dry towel, remove the beards by pulling out towards the hinged side of the mussel.
• To remove any remaining sand, soak mussels for about 30 minutes in cold water containing a handful of salt and a handful of flour.
• Take each mussel from the bowl and using a firm brush, remove any barnacles before placing into another bowl of clear water.
• Melt butter in a medium sized pot; saute onions til clear.
• Add garlic& stir for another minute.
• Add tomato, oregano, salt& pepper and cook until tomato is soft.
• Add wine& bring to a slow boil.
• Dry the mussels with a clean towel, place into pot, cover & steam for 4 minutes; remove the lid & stir the mussels.
• At this point, most of the mussels should be open; replace the lid and steam for another 2 - 4 minutes.
• Discard any that don't open.
• Divide into serving bowls& cover with broth.
• If you increase the serving size for this recipe, don't add too many mussels to the pot at once or stack them on top of each other as it will make it difficult for the mussels to open due to the weight.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Sweat the shallots until translucent and without any color, 1 to 2 minutes, and then add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer before adding the mussels. Cover tightly with a lid and steam until the mussels open, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mussels from the pot to avoid over-cooking, and discard any that do not open. Serve alongside the cooking liquid.

Steps:

• In a medium stock pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent.
• Pour in wine and mussels. Raise heat to medium/high and steam mussels until shells open, about 5 minutes.
• Pour mussels and cooking liquid into a serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Cook onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomatoes, wine and seasonings.
• Simmer 5 minute.
• Add mussels.
• Cook covered until the shells open.
• Sprinkle with parsley.
• Serve the broth as a soup if desired.

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with mussels. Sprinkle chopped onions and garlic over the shellfish. Do not add water, as mussels produce all the water needed for steaming! Cook over high heat until most or all of the mussels open. Discard any that do not open.