Seafood seems to scare home cooks – one worries about over-cooking or one can be unsure of how to serve seafood. I was one of those home cooks. When it comes to something I have never cooked before, I throw myself into a situation where I can’t make a mistake and make my first attempt at the dish for a dinner party. (I like high pressure situations ;). Sounds silly but this has worked really well for me. A few years ago I invited my whole family over and I wanted to make seafood for the first time – specifically a zuppa di Pesce dish, for the main. I did my research and I was well-prepared. I lined up which seafood went into the pot first ect. My guests loved the dish! I was proud of my first attempt and now I have no worries when it come to making seafood dishes.
Here is a fairly quick and impressive appetizer dish. I usually make mussels in their traditional form – steamed in white wine or included in a zuppa di pesce dish. I wanted to take these beautiful and delicate tasting morsels up a notch in flavour and presentation so I made a filling for them. This filling compliments the flavour of the mussel without overpowering their delicate flavour.
Include them as part of your next dinner party as an appetizer that is easy to eat while holding a glass of wine or on top of a simply dressed spaghetti dish.
Mussels Oreganato
750 ml bottle of Pinot Grigio
Course salt to line baking sheet
1 cup of plain breadcrumbs
4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 whole red pepper
1 small red onion, diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper
Extra virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
1. Preheat broiler. Line heavy baking sheet with coarse salt.
2. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper. Cook until softened and light golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs and cook. Stir the mixture until it is light golden brown. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and let cool.
3. Pour bottle of wine in a 5 quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the mussels into the pot and steam them until opened (2-3 minutes). Make sure to discard any unopened mussels. Reserve 1 cup of the white wine.
4. Remove cooked mussels from their shells, reserving 24 half shells. Arrange half shells in a single layer on top of the salt. Place a cooked mussel in each shell.
5. Stir in the Oregano and parsley into the crumb mixture, as well as a ladle of the white wine. Loosely pack about a teaspoon of the crumb mixture into each mussel, being careful not to overpower the mussel.
6. Place the baking sheet under the broiler and heat just until the crumb mixture is deep golden brown (the mussels are already cooked so this part should only take maximum 2-3 minutes).
6. Drizzle the mussels with olive oil and serve.
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper
Extra virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
1. Preheat broiler. Line heavy baking sheet with coarse salt.
2. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper. Cook until softened and light golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs and cook. Stir the mixture until it is light golden brown. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and let cool.
3. Pour bottle of wine in a 5 quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the mussels into the pot and steam them until opened (2-3 minutes). Make sure to discard any unopened mussels. Reserve 1 cup of the white wine.
4. Remove cooked mussels from their shells, reserving 24 half shells. Arrange half shells in a single layer on top of the salt. Place a cooked mussel in each shell.
5. Stir in the Oregano and parsley into the crumb mixture, as well as a ladle of the white wine. Loosely pack about a teaspoon of the crumb mixture into each mussel, being careful not to overpower the mussel.
6. Place the baking sheet under the broiler and heat just until the crumb mixture is deep golden brown (the mussels are already cooked so this part should only take maximum 2-3 minutes).
6. Drizzle the mussels with olive oil and serve.
With Love,
Daily Tiramisu
