Pasta with Sicilian style mussels

Ingredients

For steaming the mussels

• 2 lb fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs parsley
• Black pepper

For the sauce

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp small capers (in brine)
• 4 black olives, sliced or chopped
• 1/3 cup (or even a bit more) mussel broth (from steaming the mussels)
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• Spaghetti or linguini for 2 (about 1/2 lb)
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

To prepare the mussels, if not already prepared, wash them in cold water, scrub them and pull the beard off. Rinse them again under cold water.

To steam the mussels

In a cooking pot add the mussels the white wine, the thyme and parsley, the bay leaf and freshly ground black pepper. Sit the cooking pot over high heat and when the wine comes to a boil, set the heat to low, cover and steam for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, turn the heat off, uncover and move the mussels into another bowl. Remove the mussel meat from the shells and discard the latter. You can leave a few mussels in the shell for decoration. Note: Discard any mussels that have not opened. 

Pass the mussel and wine broth through a fine sift, into a bowl, and save it for later.

Start cooking the pasta in lots of boiling and salted water, al dente. While the pasta is cooking prepare the sauce.

To make the sauce

In a saucepan over medium to high heat add the olive oil and heat. Add the garlic, capers and olives and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Take care not to burn the garlic. Add the mussel broth, the butter and the mussels and bring to a boil. Add the parsley and red pepper flakes and stir well. 

When the pasta is ready, drain and serve in individual plates. Pour over the sauce, drizzle with some extra olive oil and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

This dish is great when served with freshly made garlic bread.

Notes and tips

This dish should not need any extra salt, because of the saltiness of the mussels, the capers and the black olives. You can still taste it and adjust with extra salt to your liking.