Spaghetti With Mussels And Bacon 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.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Sort the mussels and throw away any that are open already. Scrub the mussels under running water and remove the beards.
• Peel and chop the onions. Peel the carrots, trim the leek and wash and finely dice both. Wash the parsley, shake dry and chop.
• Wash the potatoes and cook in plenty of salted water for 25-30 minutes. Fry the bacon in a dry frying pan.
• Heat the butter in a large pan and sweat first the onions and then the rest of the vegetables. Stir in half of the parsley, 350 ml water and the wine. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Put the mussels into the pan, cover and cook over a high heat for about 8 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time. Add the potatoes, bacon and the remaining parsley. Ladle into bowls and serve with baguette.

MUSSELS STEAMED WITH CIDER & BACON

Steps:

• PREPARATION: Raw mussels MUST be alive when you cook them, so careful preparation is key. Wash them under cold running water until it runs clear, and scrub if necessary. Pull the 'beard' away from each individual mussel - this is the byssus thread, a protein the mussel 'spins' so it can attach itself to rock or rope. Drain and then check; if the shell is tightly shut, this is a good indication that it's alive. If the mussel is open, tap it sharply for a few seconds - if it is alive, it will close. Discard any that appear to be dead as they can decompose very rapidly, and eating one that you aren't sure of is not worth the risk. Don't check them too far in advance; cook within a few minutes to be on the safe side.
• Heat the butter in a pan large enough to easily fit the mussels, then fry the bacon for 4 mins, turning occasionally until it starts becoming crisp. Throw in the shallots and thyme leaves, then cook for 1 min until softened. Whack the heat up to maximum and add the mussels to the pan, then pour over the cider. Place the lid on the pan, give it a good shake, then cook the mussels for 5-7 mins, shaking the pan occasionally, until all the mussels have opened. Discard any that haven't.
• Use a slotted spoon to scoop the mussels into bowls and place the pan back on the heat. Bring the juices to the boil and stir in the crème fraîche, if using. Pour the sauce over the mussels. Serve with hunks of crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.
• COOKING TIPS: Mussels are most often steamed open over a small amount of flavoured liquid, as in Moules marinière, although they can also be oven roasted and are particularly good cooked 'en papillote' (in a bag). Wine, stock, beer and cider are all great for cooking mussels, but take care not to add salt to the liquid as mussel juice can be very salty. Drop the mussels into the liquid, cover with a tight-fitting lid, then cook until they have opened and the meat has settled into one side of the shell; this usually takes 3-4 minutes. Avoid overcooking as the meat shrivels and becomes tough. Check them all again before serving and discard any that haven't opened. If a mussel is unopened at this stage, this indicates that it was already dead. You will probably notice the colour of the meat varies between beige and orange. This is an indication of sex - beige for male and orange for female; there is no difference in flavour. Once cooked, mussels are usually lifted into a bowl and the cooking liquor is reduced by simmering. Pull the meat from one shell and then use that shell as a pincer to remove meat from the rest. Serve simply with crusty bread - lovely!

SPAGHETTI WITH MUSSELS AND CALABRIAN CHILES

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil and the breadcrumbs in a small skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and transfer to a small bowl.
• Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook as the label directs for al dente. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic in a separate large pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chiles. Add the mussels and wine and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the mussels open, about 5 minutes (discard any unopened mussels). Drain the mussels in a colander set over a large bowl. Pour the liquid back into the pot. Cover the mussels to keep warm.
• Using tongs, transfer the spaghetti to the pot with the mussel liquid. Cook over medium-high heat, tossing, until coated. Add some of the pasta cooking water, 1/4 cup at a time, if the pasta seems dry. Stir in the parsley and season with salt.
• Divide the pasta among bowls. Top with the mussels, breadcrumbs and basil; drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.

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.