Spaghetti With Mussels Recipes

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 PASTA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook onion until soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce, season with salt, and simmer over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet and cook peeled garlic for 1 minute. Add mussels and cook until they open, about 8 minutes. Transfer mussels to a bowl. Pour in white wine and allow to evaporate. Remove garlic, but save cooking liquid.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a separate skillet and cook clams until they open, about 8 minutes. Remove 1/2 of the mussels and 1/2 of the clams from their shells. Discard any unopened shells. Add all mussels and clams, with and without shells, and cooking liquid to the tomato sauce. Season with red pepper flakes and simmer for a few minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and add spaghetti to tomato sauce. Mix in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve with Parmesan on the side.

SPAGHETTI WITH MUSSELS AND BACON

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and shallots and cook until the bacon starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and red pepper flakes, increase the heat to high and cook until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hands, and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as the label directs; drain. Pile the parsley, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt on a cutting board and use a large knife to mince and mash them together.
• Add the mussels to the tomato sauce and stir to coat, then cover. As the mussels open (2 to 6 minutes), use tongs to transfer them to a bowl; discard any that do not open. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss until heated through, about 1 minute. Add the parsley-garlic mixture and toss. Divide the pasta among bowls and top with the mussels.

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.

SPAGHETTI ALLA VODKA WITH MUSSELS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Add the heavy cream to the sauce and simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the vodka. Add the mussels, cover and cook until the mussels open, about 5 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open). Remove from the heat; keep the pot covered.
• Meanwhile, after adding the cream to the tomato sauce, add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook as the label directs for al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain. Add the spaghetti to the pot with the mussels, along with 1/4 cup cooking water. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding more cooking water, a few tablespoons at a time, if the sauce seems too thick, until the spaghetti is well coated. Season with salt.
• Divide the spaghetti and mussels among shallow bowls. Sprinkle with the parsley and more red pepper flakes.

SPAGHETTI WITH MUSSELS (SPAGHETTI CON LE COZZE)

Steps:

• 1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt.
• 2. In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until light golden brown, about a minute. Add the wine, raise the heat, and bring to a boil, then add the mussels. Cook, stirring and tossing, until all of the mussels have opened, about 4 minutes.
• 3. Meanwhile, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until al dente; drain well.
• 4. Add the pasta to the pan with the mussels and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve immediately.