Mussels in tomato and garlic sauce
New Zealand green lipped mussels are bigger and meatier than Mediterranean ones, and they reach us already blanched on the half shell. That means no cleaning and no guesswork: you only make the sauce, they go in at the end.
Instructions
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Prepare the mussels
Thaw the mussels for 4 to 6 hours in the fridge, then drain them well. They come already blanched, so they go into the sauce last and stay there briefly.
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Build the base ⏱ 3 min
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and soften the onion for 3 minutes over medium heat, until translucent. Add the sliced garlic and chili flakes and give them 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
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Deglaze with wine ⏱ 2 min
Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes, until the raw alcohol smell is gone and only the aroma stays. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
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Simmer the tomato sauce ⏱ 10 min
Add the tomatoes with their juice, salt and pepper, then simmer uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and turns silky. Taste and adjust the salt.
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Add the mussels ⏱ 5 min
Nestle the mussels into the sauce shell side up, cover the pan and give them 5 minutes, just long enough to heat through and soak up the sauce. Any longer and they tighten up.
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Serve with bread
Scatter the chopped parsley and bring the pan straight to the table with the toasted bread. Mopping up the leftover sauce is the best part.
Good to know
Blanched mussels need heat, not boiling. Five minutes under the lid is plenty, every extra minute dries them out. For a silkier sauce, add a teaspoon of sugar and a knob of cold butter at the end.
Frequently asked questions
How long do mussels stay in the tomato sauce?
Five minutes under a lid, arranged shell side up, just until fully warmed through and infused. Frozen mussels are already blanched, so they need heat, not boiling: every extra minute dries them out.
How do you make the tomato sauce for mussels?
Onion sautéed for 3 minutes, sliced garlic and chili flakes, white wine boiled for 2 minutes, then the tomatoes with their juice, 10 minutes on low heat without a lid. For a silkier sauce: a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of cold butter at the end.
Can you make the mussel sauce spicy?
Yes, it is very much in the spirit of the recipe: dose the chili flakes at the sauté stage, from a discreet pinch to a fully spicy marinara. The heat goes in at the start, so it melts into the sauce, not sprinkled at the end.
Do mussels in tomato sauce work over pasta?
Perfectly: the sauce is essentially a marinara. Boil spaghetti, toss it straight into the sauce with a ladle of pasta water, and add the mussels last, just to warm through. Toasted bread stays mandatory for the leftover sauce.
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Mussels in tomato and garlic sauce
Mussels in tomato and garlic sauce
New Zealand green lipped mussels are bigger and meatier than Mediterranean ones, and they reach us already blanched on the half shell. That means no cleaning and no guesswork: you only make the sauce, they go in at the end.
Notes
Blanched mussels need heat, not boiling. Five minutes under the lid is plenty, every extra minute dries them out. For a silkier sauce, add a teaspoon of sugar and a knob of cold butter at the end.
