Mussels in White Wine Sauce

The art of cooking is truly a joy for me. I must say from the moment I select my meats, fish and produce, to the prepping and then the cooking. I love no-nonsense food, real food that is rooted in my Italian tradition, simple to prepare, beautiful to look at, nutritional and great to eat!  I love to express my own personality through the way I cook and present my food.  I routinely dabble in other types of delicious cuisines as well.

One of my family favorite appetizers is my mussels steamed in white wine sauce.  Mussels are an excellent source of protein that is low in calories and fat. They contain a number of vitamins and minerals and contain higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids than any other shellfish. It takes only 20 minutes to prep and cook this light, yummy dish. You can even toss it over some spaghetti if you like.  Buon Appetito!

Mussels steamed in White Wine         

 INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs. mussels
• 1 cup dry white wine (or 1 can of beer if you prefer)
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Lemon juice (11/2 medium lemons)
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat parsley
• ¼ cup Olive oil
• 1 tsp. or more black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tablespoon butter (optional)

PREP WORK

Fill bowl with cold water and add the mussels to soak.

Scrub the mussels, pull the beards and scrape off any barnacles from each mussel (inspecting them to make sure that they are tightly closed with no broken shells). 

Drain water and wash again.

Discard any bad mussels.

Cut garlic cloves in half and chop parsley.

Squeeze lemons.

COOKING STEPS

1. Pour Olive oil and add chopped garlic in stock pot and simmer.
2. Add the mussels and all the remaining ingredients and mix together.
3. Place cover on pot and steam over high heat (approx. 10 min.), until all the mussels have opened (discard any unopened mussels). 

Put the mussels into a large serving bowl and garnish with extra parsley if desire. Serve with a LARGE loaf of Italian bread or toasted garlic bread!