Serves 2 as an entrée or 4 as a starter

• 2lbs fresh mussels, cleaned
• 1 shallot minced (or ½ small onion, minced)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1T olive oil
• 1/2T butter
• ½ bottle of white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris/Grigio would be good. I like using Yellow Tail wines.)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 pinches red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• Chopped parsley (optional)

VARIATIONS-

If you want to have a sauce and bread:

• 1-2T butter
• A loaf of crusty bread

If you want to serve it over pasta:

• 1T cornstarch
• 1oz water
• 4-6oz linguine, cooked according to directions (I use Barilla Plus)

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter. Cook the shallot and garlic with a pinch of salt, until the shallots soften. Add the wine, bay leaves and pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Add the mussels to the pan and cover. Reduce the heat to medium. Set a timer for 5min and allow the mussels to steam. (Don’t touch until the timer goes off!) After 5min, remove the lid- the mussels should all be open. If not, put the lid back on for another minute or so. With a pair of tongs, remove the mussels to a dish (bonus points if it’s warm!) and cover with a double layer of foil. Add the tomatoes to the wine-broth in the pan and simmer to reduce by about 3/4^ths.

If serving with bread, reduce a little bit more, then swirl in the additional butter. Portion the reserved mussels into serving dishes and pour the sauce over. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with bread.

If serving with pasta, in a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the broth and simmer until thickened. Portion the pasta and mussels onto serving plates and top with the sauce and garnish with parsley, if desired.

Either variation should take no more than 20min to prepare, or 30-40min if you take into account the time for cleaning the mussels. See? So quick and easy! You’ll be snuggling with your snookie-poo in no time!

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