Thinking of southern Italy, its sun-drenched and sea-bathed coastlines, the fragrant olive oil, and the always lively, cheerful people, today we're preparing a dish as simple as it is delicious and surprising. In some way, through its ingredients, it carries all these things with it. Spaghetti con cozze, or simply spaghetti with mussels, paired with a glass of aromatic wine, can be a real treat in the company of wonderful people. And it’s so easy to make that it only takes a few minutes.
Ingredients:
- 500 g fresh mussels
- 500 g spaghetti
- 200 ml cooking cream, 32-35% fat
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 200 ml white wine or prosecco
- parsley
- olive oil
- 1 fresh chili pepper or dried chili flakes
How to prepare them:
We start by rinsing the mussels under cold water, then cleaning off the beards and any sand still stuck to them. If we find any mussels already open, we can discard them – they won’t be useful to us.
Put the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water. In some parts of southern Italy, people even use seawater to cook the pasta. 🙂
Peel and finely chop 2-3 garlic cloves. In a separate pot, heat some olive oil and toss in the garlic slices. When they begin to infuse the oil with their aroma, add the halved cherry tomatoes and a bit of the chili pepper.
Now, we can add the mussels to the pot. Pour in the glass of prosecco, cover the pot well, and leave it on the heat, shaking the pot occasionally. Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, the pasta should be ready, cooked al dente, just right. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot it was cooked in. Gradually add the thick cream, stirring continuously.
Check the mussels, which after about 10 minutes under the lid, should have opened and become infused with flavor. Drain the mussels from the liquid they were cooked in, then add them to the spaghetti. Mix everything together and finish with freshly chopped parsley and the remaining chili pepper.
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