Daydream with us for a second, Seafoodies!
Snow is falling outside your window, the Christmas tree lights cast a warm glow across the room and the fireplace crackles softly in the background (or maybe it’s that perfect fireplace scene playing on your TV—we don’t discriminate between real and digital). It’s the kind of December evening made for staying in, slowing down and cooking in your home kitchen. And that’s where our Mussels with White Wine Sauce recipe steps in, to take an ordinary winter night and make it into an intimate dining experience that rivals any fancy restaurant reservation—and in under one hour!
Now, feel free to correct us if we’re wrong, but we have a feeling that many home cooks hesitate to make mussel dishes for one particularly hairy reason (sorry, we couldn’t resist!). You guessed it—we’re talking about debearding, which actually sounds more intimidating than it actually is. Those fibrous threads (the “beards”) that help mussels attach to rocks in the wild need a quick removal before cooking, but the whole process takes about two minutes once you know the trick. We’ll walk you through the entire process step by step in the following recipe, and before the snow stops dancing in the windows, you’ll have another fantastic technique in your Seafoodie repertoire. Honestly, after a few tries, it will get easier than wrapping up all those presents.
Once your mussels are prepped, the cooking magic happens fast. These tender mollusks need nothing more than a quick sauté with white wine, fresh lemon and spices. Within minutes, your kitchen fills with an amazing aroma as the mussels steam open in their own flavorful sauce—a sauce so good you’ll absolutely need crusty bread to sop up every last drop. Serve the dish as a shareable appetizer that impresses dinner guests or ladle it over whole-wheat pasta with a side salad for a well-rounded entrée with serious corner bistro vibes.
After a few practice sessions, we don’t blame you if mussels start showing up on the menu for more than special occasions only. When compared to other bivalves like clams or oysters, mussels are cost-effective and, like their seaworthy counterparts, maintain an impressive nutrient profile. Remarkably low in calories, mussels still deliver a whopping 20 grams of protein per 3-ounce serving plus iron and vitamin C to support energy levels, immune system and cognitive function.
That’s exactly the kind of nutrient density we want to add to our plates for more than just momentous moments!
So eat up (or should we say tuck in)!
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Mussels with White Wine Sauce
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 pounds mussels, cleaned
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 2 cups white wine
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- Crusty, whole-grain bread or baguette (optional)
- Lemon wedges (optional)
Instructions
Mussel Cleaning Instructions
- Mussels need to breathe. After bringing them home from the store, immediately unwrap mussels and inspect them. Discard any mussel that is chipped, broken or damaged. Also, discard any opened mussels that don’t tightly close when you tap them. Place mussels in a bowl covered with a damp towel in the fridge.
- Just before cooking, soak mussels in fresh water for about 20 minutes to let them expel sand.
- Most mussels have what is commonly called a “beard” made of fibers that emerge from the mussel’s shell. To remove it, hold the mussel in one hand and grasp the beard with the other. Give the beard a sharp yank toward the hinge end of the mussel. (Don’t pull toward the opening end of the mussel, or you could tear and kill the mussel.) Discard the beards.
- By hand, transfer the mussels from the water into a fresh bowl of clean, cold water. (Don’t use a strainer, or you’ll end up pouring the filtered sand back on top of the mussels.)
- Use a firm brush to brush off any additional sand, barnacles or other oceanic attachments. Rinse the mussels under cool tap water and set aside. Dry with a towel before cooking.
Recipe Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil and garlic; cook for about 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant.
- Add clean mussels, lemon juice, lemon zest, white wine, red pepper flakes and basil.
- Cover and simmer over medium heat until mussels are steamed open, about 4 to 6 minutes. Cook time depends on how long it takes the mussels to open—it might take less time, based on stovetop performance.
- Remove pot from heat and discard unopened mussels. Serve with crusty bread and lemon wedges.
Notes
Suggested Utensils; Large pot
- Prep Time: 35
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Mussels
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