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Dutch oven of Easy Mussels with toasted baguette

Mussels in White Wine and Garlic

This is a simple, rustic dish that is easy to do for a weeknight, but also festive enough to serve to company. Feel free to tinker with the ingredients, using more chili if you like or cutting it out all together. I sometimes add a big handful of halved cherry tomatoes when they are in season. I've also made this with slices of Spanish chorizo. You can add either of those at the same time you add the wine. And a half of diced fresh fennel is tasty, too. Sauté it along with the onion.

Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine French
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 475 kcal
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

Mussels

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 3 large cloves garlic
  • 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes (more if you like it spicier)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 3 1/2 pounds fresh mussels
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/3 cup chopped parsley (optional)

Crusty Garlic Bread

  • 1 baguette
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

Instructions

For the Mussels

  1. Cover the mussels in a large bowl of cold water. Use your thumbs to slough off any dirt or debris. If the mussels have hairy tendrils jutting from the shell, called the beard, pull or cut them off. Discard any open mussels. Transfer the mussels to a colander and rinse well under cold water. Put in a bowl, cover with a dish towel, and return to the fridge.

  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add the onion and sauté until tender and translucent, about five minutes.

  3. While the onion cooks, peel and thinly slice the garlic. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté another minute or so. Add the wine, tomato paste, crushed red chili, and fennel seeds, and stir so the tomato blends into the sauce. Adjust the heat so the liquid simmers. Simmer for a few minutes more to cook off the alcohol and bring the flavors together.

  4. Add the mussels, turn the heat to high, and cover the pot or pan with a lid or a tight seal of aluminum foil. Stir the mussels from time to time, cooking them until the shells open, about 5 minutes.

  5. Once the mussels open, add the butter and stir the mussels, so it melts into the broth. Taste the broth and add salt, a good pinch at a time, until it tastes well seasoned. Sprinkle parsley over the top.

For the Bread

  1. Turn on an oven broiler or grill.

    Split the baguette in half lengthwise. Rub the whole cloves of garlic over the surface of each half. Brush the surface with olive oil and add a few good pinches of salt. Set the bread, cut-side-up, under a broiler or cut-side-down on a grill. Cook until crisp around the edges for a broiler or or blistered with grill marks for a grill. Cut into pieces.

To Serve

  1. Serve as soon as the mussels are done. Spoon into bowls, being sure to include some of the broth. Serve the bread on the side