It turned out rather well and we ate it with oven toasted bread rubbed and baked with extra virgin olive oil and garlic.
There were four separate components:
- a tomato salsa – extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic cloves, fresh oregano and a little rosemary,
- steamed mussels (cozze), most taken out of their shells…. a little white wine and a little fish stock,
- a soffritto of celery, chopped fennel, spring onions and baby carrots,
- chopped herbs – fennel fronds and parsley.
All assembled at the end to make this:
Was it Italian regional?
I do not know. I used Italian methods and ingredients and I guess that it could have been made in any part of Italy. Maybe in the South a little chilli would be added.
And we liked it.