Ingredients
- 1 kilogram mussels (35 ounces)
- 200 gram chorizo sausage
- 1 onion
- 250 gram fresh tomatoes (can also be canned tomatoes)
- 1 large bay leaf
- 100 ml white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or chili powder
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley
Are you having trouble converting measurements? Check our conversion chart.
Kitchen equipment needed
- Mussels pan or a Dutch oven with a thin underside (should have a lid!)
- Small knife + cutting board
- Large bowl
- Oven mitts
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 of it. It already has died and there is a higher risk in 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 sea weed 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 chili 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 on shaking the entire pan, quickly turn the mussels over using a wooden spoon.
SERVE mussels in a deep plate. CHOP up the flat leaf parsley and divide over the mussels, and dig in!
Very good dish.