To be honest, I had never had never thought to order mussels at a restaurant as an appetizer or main meal until last year, when a friend got them and generously shared.
Wow, the flavor was so unique, and they were served with delicious bread slices to sop the broth up with. Now, I can’t get enough of them, and order them whenever I see them on the menu.
So as I’m perusing my way through the grocery store, I happened to glace over at the seafood counter, and I happened to see how surprisingly cheap they were ($3 a lb!) so I decided to make them at home!
I couldn’t have been happier with the flavorful result: spices from the chorizo meld perfectly with the tomatoes and white wine which are the perfect vessel for the mussels to cook in. YUM YUM YUM! This is one fancy and super cheap dish I’ll be making again and again, and is perfect for sharing with friends and family.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs mussels cleaned
- 4 Garlic cloves crushed
- 1/2 Onion chopped
- 1 Can 14.5 oz Diced tomatoes (I got the diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano)
- 1 Tbs Tomato Paste
- 6 oz Spanish Chorizo about 3 links sliced
- 2 Cups white wine I used Pinot Grigio
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 1 Tbs butter
- 3 sprigs Thyme
- 1 tsp Salt & Pepper
- 1 Baguette sliced
Instructions
- To make sure your mussels are extra clean, before cooking soak in water for 30 minutes, then remove the mussels and transfer them to another bowl by lifting them out of the water (you don't want to put them through a strainer because the dirt or sand that's left will get stuck in the colander. Any mussels that are open, throw out.
- While the mussels are soaking in water, start the broth. Melt the butter in the bottom of a large pot, as soon as it is melted add the onion, garlic, seasonings and chorizo slices. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onion starts to turn translucent, then add the can of diced tomatoes and white wine and tomato paste. Throw in the sprigs of Thyme. Allow to come to a slow boil (about 10 minutes), stir, and reduce heat to low.
- Once the mussels are ready, add them to the broth. Cook for 5 minutes giving them 1 or 2 gentle stirs, when you see the mussels start to open up, turn off heat and let sit for 2-3 minutes, then you're ready to serve.
- Pour broth and mussels into a serving bowl, any mussels that haven't opened, remove/throw out before serving.
- Serve with slices of a baguette or crusty bread of sopping up the broth with and enjoy!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
I want to devour these!!
Sweetphi says
I think you would totally enjoy them Liz, thanks for commenting 🙂
I Wilkerson says
I love mussels in wine and this spicier version sounds awesome. A must try!
Sweetphi says
If you love mussels, you’ll these! There is definitely a little heat to these, but that can easily be controlled by how much seasonings you add. Definitely a recipe worth trying! Thanks for commenting!!
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
Great recipe, mussels and chorizo, what a fabulous combination. I usually use bacon but love the flavor of chorizo. Can’t wait to make this.
Sweetphi says
Let me know how it turns out Kathy! And I totally would never have thought to use bacon, I’ll have to try that with mussels next time, thanks for the awesome suggestion.
cheri says
HI Phi, love this dish, Never had mussels with chorizo before but I bet it is wonderful. This would be perfect for entertaining.
Sweetphi says
You’re spot on Cheri, this is such a fantastic dish for entertaining! The Mussels and chorizo pair so well together. Hope you give it a try!
Tina | Mademoiselle Gourmande says
Uh, how great this looks! I’m usually more into the white wine sauce but the addition of the chorizo sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing this great summer dish, Phi. 🙂
Sweetphi says
I had always had mussels with white wine sauce as well and thought to mix it up a little with the rich tomato and chorizo flavors and was blown away by the result! Thanks for commenting!
Samina | The Cupcake Confession says
Goodness, I love mussels! Truth be told, that is the only seafood I eat with relish!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to try this! Looks AMAZINGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
Sweetphi says
Isn’t it funny how the most unexpected things are the things that we end up loving? I had never even thought to order mussels at restaurants, let alone cook with them, and now I want to eat them all the time because they’re so good!
Karis says
Chris loves mussels so I’m going to forward your recipe to him. He devoured big buckets of them during our time in Belgium.
Sweetphi says
Haha, that is too funny, I could definitely see myself devouring buckets of these bad boys, they were so good!!! And thanks for forwarding the recipe to him 🙂 Next time you guys visit I’ll have to have you over and make these for him (and of course a fun vegetarian appetizer for you 🙂 )