appetizers - grace grits and gardening

I always thought mussels would be an incredibly difficult dish to cook. This is not the case at all. The following recipe is courtesy of Dallas Central Market Cooking School. I attended the class last summer and discovered how truly easy it is to cook mussels.

Ingredients (serves 6 as an appetizer, 2-3 as main course)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
2 cups roma tomatoes, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds of fresh black mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded (if you buy them at Whole Foods they come this way)
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of fresh thyme
Crusty French bread, to serve

Method

1. Heat the butter in a large stew pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallots. Sauté until golden, stirring constantly.

2. Add tomatoes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes give up their juice. Then add white wine, salt, paper. Cook until reduced by half.

3. Stir in the mussels, turning to coat them with the sauce. Cover the pot and turn heat to high.

4. Cook mussels, covered, 7 – 10 minutes. Turn off heat.

5. Add herbs and stir to incorporate.

6. Divide mussels among serving bowls, discarding any that did not open, and ladle the sauce over them.

7. Serve with bread to sop up the sauce.