Spinach Fettuccini With Smoked Mussels And Basil Cream Recipes

MUSSELS WITH BASIL CREAM

Steps:

• Cook onion and garlic in butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine and mussels and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until mussels just open wide, 6 to 8 minutes. (Discard any mussels that have not opened after 8 minutes.) Transfer mussels with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl, then transfer cooking liquid to a blender along with cream, basil, and pepper and blend until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Season sauce with salt and pour over mussels.

FETTUCCINE WITH MUSSELS, BASIL AND CREAM

Steps:

• Bring a kettle of water to a boil for the pasta.
• Heat a large, heavy skillet. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted. Remove the nuts from the pan and reserve. Lower the heat.
• Melt the butter and lightly saute the garlic. Stir in the cream and cook until the cream has reduced somewhat and is slightly thickened. Stir in the basil and mussels. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Boil the fettuccine about two minutes. Drain.
• Add the fettuccine to the skillet. Heat, tossing with the sauce, then serve sprinkled with the pine nuts and basil leaves.

SPINACH FETTUCCINI WITH GORGONZOLA CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat water to a boil for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.
• Heat butter in a large sauce pot with butter, add garlic, cook 2 minutes then whisk in flour, cook 1 minute. Whisk in stock then cream, bring to a bubble and stir in Gorgonzola, about 2 minutes until melted. Stir in sage and a little pepper and cook 3 minutes more.
• In a serving bowl toss hot pasta with sauce and fresh spinach to wilt in.

PASTA WITH SMOKED MUSSELS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes; do not let it brown. Add the tomatoes and cook just until heated through, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the mussels, parsley, basil, salt and pepper.
• Place the linguine in a large bowl and toss with the mussel mixture and the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Divide among 4 plates and serve immediately.

MUSSELS AND PASTA WITH CREAMY WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes.
• Place mussel meat in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
• Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Gently warm the mussels until they release their water, about 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
• Wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Melt remaining 3 teaspoons butter in the skillet. Cut any large mushrooms into smaller pieces. Add to the skillet and sprinkle with pepper. Cook until starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour wine into the skillet, add red pepper flakes, and cook until wine has reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in cream and add mussels. Heat until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Use tongs to lift linguine out of the pot and add to the skillet with some of the cooking water. Toss to coat with sauce. Plate and garnish with lemon zest.

OVEN-ROASTED MUSSELS WITH FRESH SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Clean the mussels. Inspect each one carefully and discard any that have opened (if some are partly open, tap them with your finger, and if they close back up they are O.K.) or have cracked shells. Place in a large bowl, fill the bowl with cold water and rinse several times, swishing the mussels around in the water, pouring out the water and refilling. Clean the shells, if necessary, with a brush or the end of one of the mussels, and pull out the beards -- the hairy attachments emerging from the shells. Do not do this until just before cooking, or the mussels will die and spoil.
• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the mussels. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Arrange the mussels, pointed ends up, in a single layer in a cast iron skillet and/or a heavy baking dish. Spoon the marinade left in the bowl over the mussels and place in the preheated oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, until most of the mussels have opened.
• Meanwhile, steam the spinach in a large pot above 1 inch of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, arrange on a large round platter, and season with a little bit of coarse sea salt and pepper.
• Arrange the mussels that have opened on top of the spinach and return the pan to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that have not opened. Arrange all of the mussels on top of the spinach, pour the juices in the pan over the mussels and spinach, sprinkle on the parsley and serve over a bed of steamed spinach, with crusty bread.