Pasta with mussels is not only tasty, but also a very beautiful dish due to picturesquely laid out half-open shells. Traditional Italian pasta and gourmet Mediterranean seafood go well with a variety of sauces.
General recommendations
Seafood pasta is an Italian classic. Spaghetti is best for making pasta with mussels, but not the thinnest. Mussels can be peeled, frozen, but boiled mussels laid out on pasta in open shells will make your table at home look like open verandas of Mediterranean restaurants. But parmesan, traditional for pasta, does not go well with mussels. They can only lightly sprinkle the finished dish, and then only when it is not burdened with complex sauces.
Spaghetti with mussels: a simple recipe
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- Spaghetti - 400 g
- Frozen mussels - 300 g
- Garlic - 3 cloves
- Parsley - a small bunch
- Green basil - 2-3 sprigs
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Hard cheese - 30 g
Preparation:
- Crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of the knife blade.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add garlic, fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour in unfrozen mussels, simmer in the resulting water for 10-15 minutes, until all the water has evaporated. In the process, add finely chopped fresh basil. Remove the garlic.
- Simultaneously with the preparation of the mussels, cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the package. Throw in a colander, return to the pan, add a piece of butter, mix.
- Put the spaghetti on plates, spread the mussels on top, add finely chopped parsley and sprinkle with grated cheese just a little.
Spaghetti with mussels in wine sauce
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti - 500 g
- Frozen mussels - 400 g
- Dry white wine - 80 ml
- Tomatoes - 3 pcs.
- Bulb onion - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Parsley - a small bunch
- Coarse sea salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Dried basil and oregano to taste
Preparation:
- Remember to defrost the mussels beforehand. It is better to do this not in the warmth, but in the refrigerator. Drain off the formed water.
- Cut the tomatoes crosswise, scald with boiling water and peel off (it should come off easily). Place the tomatoes in a blender, add the dried basil and oregano, and mix until smooth.
- Finely chop the onion. Crush the garlic with the flat side of a knife blade.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan, put chopped onions and garlic cloves in it, fry until a characteristic onion smell appears (5 minutes), add tomato mass, mash, simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in dry white wine, add dried basil, salt, pepper, simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
- Add mussels, boil the sauce so that it is not runny (it will take 10-15 minutes).
- Add butter and finely chopped parsley. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the package. Throw in a colander.
- Put the spaghetti on plates, pour over the mussels in the wine sauce, and season with the pepper from the mill.
- Serve immediately.
Pasta with mussels in tomato sauce
Overall, a simple, deliciously tasty dish, but it's important to follow a few rules. Mussels are only suitable in shells. Keep peeled or canned for other recipes. If you have frozen mussels, they should be thawed in the refrigerator by the time you start cooking, so take care of this in advance - it is better to leave it in the evening or at least in the morning if you intend to cook pasta towards the end of the day. Fresh mussels must be thoroughly rinsed, soaked briefly to wash out all the sand, then rinsed again under running water.
The next point of principle is to time it so that the sauce and pasta are ready at about the same time. The cooking time for the sauce is about 15 minutes. The spaghetti should be cooked al dente, that is, left a little undercooked.
Ingredients for 6 servings:
- Spaghetti - 500 g
- Frozen mussels in shells - 400 g
- Dry white wine - 100 ml
- Tomatoes - 0.5 kg
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Olive oil
- Green basil - small bunch
- Coarse sea salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Dried basil and oregano to taste
- Balsamic vinegar
Preparation:
- Make criss-cross cuts on the tomatoes, pour over with boiling water and peel them off. Place the tomatoes in a blender, add dried herbs and fresh green basil and mix until smooth. Set aside for a while.
- Crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of the blade, holding the tip and pressing down firmly on the handle. This will give the oil the right amount of aroma without overcooking or losing its culinary properties.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet with high sides. Fry the garlic in oil for 1-2 minutes over medium heat. In no case should it be fried.
- Increase the heat and toss the mussels in the shells into the pan. Pour in dry white wine. Heat and simmer mussels in wine until evaporated. It is important that the mussels do not stick to the pan. To do this, constantly turn the shells over.
- Pour balsamic vinegar over the mussels and simmer for a few more minutes over low heat.
- Add tomato paste. Simmer for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- In the process of preparing the sauce, cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the package, but undercooking for 2-3 minutes, otherwise, during the final mixing with mussels, they will become too soft.
- Drain the spaghetti in a colander, leaving some of the water in which they were boiled.
- Add spaghetti and water from them to the frying pan to the mussels. Mix gently, being careful not to break the shells. Warm up for 1-2 minutes. No water should remain.
- Chop fresh basil finely and sprinkle on the finished pasta.
- Serve immediately, season with fresh pepper from the mill.
Pasta with mussels in a creamy sauce
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti - 400 g
- Frozen mussels - 300 g
- Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Cream at least 20% fat - 250 ml
- Olive oil
- Coarse sea salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Dried basil to taste
Preparation:
Defrost the mussels, as before, in the refrigerator in advance, let the water drain. Preheat a frying pan, warm up the olive oil, put the mussels in it. Simmer over medium heat until excess liquid evaporates. Grind the tomatoes in a blender, after peeling them. Put the resulting tomato mass to the mussels. Add salt, pepper, dried basil and finely chopped garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes on low heat. Pour in the cream, let it boil, then cook for 2-3 minutes.
Boil the spaghetti, put in a colander and add to the pan to the mussels in the sauce. Mix. Arrange on plates and serve immediately.
What wine goes well with mussel pasta
Pasta with mussels, especially with sauce, is already a very rich dish in taste and aroma. Therefore, heavy, aged wines will create an oversaturated taste. Light dry white wines with fresh herbal or citrus notes are a good choice. For Italian wines, choose Soave from the Veneto region or the more expensive and refined Piedmontese. German and Austrian Rieslings with a strong but balanced acidity are good options.
If you still prefer red wines, choose acidic, not tannin, otherwise the tannins will overwhelm the taste of the mussels. Everything is simple here - Tuscan classics Chianti, most likely, will not disappoint you.
Dry and semi-dry nutmegs are also traditionally good for seafood, which must be served well chilled.
