Spanish mussels in chorizo and wine sauce

Mussels and food safety

a little word of advice: there is very little risk when handling mussels that are freshly purchased. Before cooking, in preparation, check every mussel. Proper mussels should be tightly closed.  

Discard any mussels that are cracked or broken. If a mussel is open, tap it against the counter. Tapping triggers a reaction, so live mussels will close their shell immediately. If a mussel does not close after tapping, discard it.

It already has died and there is a higher risk of eating already dead mussels. Simply follow your instincts and remember this: before cooking: shell closed after cooking: shell opened which basically means that you can skip eating the mussels that are still tightly shut, even after cooking.

Preparation – 10 minutes

CUT the chorizo sausage in small slices using the small knife and cutting board. DICE the onion and roughly chop the tomatoes in chunks. WASH the mussels under running cold water.

Remove any debris such as seaweed and sand. Seperate the bad mussels from the good ones, place the good ones into the large bowl.  

Cooking the mussels – 10 minutes

Place the mussels pan on medium-high heat. Add in the chorizo, without any butter or olive oil and let it bake for 3 minutes. Add in the diced onion and sauté until the onions are soft.

Add tomato chunks, bay leaf, white wine and chilli flakes. Turn up the heat to maximum and let boil until most of the moisture has been evaporated. Add in the (cleaned) mussels into the pan with the chorizo mixture.

Place the lid on the pan and cook the mussels for just 5 minutes. It really does not need more cooking time, that's why mussels make a great weekday meal! shake the pan using the oven mitts, while keeping the lid on tight using your hands.

This might require a little practice. If you are unsure about shaking the entire pan, quickly turn the mussels over using a wooden spoon. Serve mussels on a deep plate.

Chop up the flat-leaf parsley and divide over the mussels, and dig in!