Mediterranean flavoured Mussels | All Things Sicilian and more

The Cozze in Brodetto are Mussels in a little broth and this dish turned out rather well. We ate with oven-toasted bread, rubbed and baked with extra virgin olive oil and a clove of raw garlic. The crisp bread soaked up the fragrant juices beautifully.

This dish came together from four distinct components, each bringing its own depth of flavour:

The Tomato Salsa
A flavourful, rustic sauce made from two tins of peeled tomatoes gently simmered in extra virgin olive oil with fresh garlic cloves, a sprig of oregano, and a sprig of rosemary. The sauce was cooked until the tomatoes softened and the oil turned a deep red and was a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and herbal.

The Mussels (Cozze)
Fresh, glossy mussels were steamed lightly in white wine until they opened and released their juice, this was the natural seafood stock. The liquid was strained and reserved, and added to the final dish.

The Soffritto
A delicate base of finely chopped celery, fennel, spring onions, and baby carrots sautéed slowly in extra virgin olive oil. Add half of the herbs, see below. This gave the dish texture and a gentle aroma.

The Herbs
Chopped parsley and fennel fronds , some added to the soffritto and some added at the end, stirred through just before serving.

Once everything was combined – the tomato sauce, the mussels and their broth, the vegetables, and the herbs the sum of all things came together as something both simple and very satisfying. The broth was light but full of flavour, and the mussels kept their freshness.

Was it from a particular region of Italy?

I don’t know. The ingredients and the way of cooking were Italian enough, and I imagine it could be made anywhere along the coast. Perhaps in the South of Italy they’d add some chilli.

Wherever it belongs, we liked it, and that’s really the best measure of success.

MUSSELS IN TRIESTE and Mussel recipes

SPAGHETTINI E COZZE; Spaghettini with mussels

COZZE CON SAMBUCA (Mussels with Sambuca- anice flavoured liqueur)

These mussels that were cooked for me by my friend who lives in Queensland. To her Mussels Provençal, she added a leek, a fennel bulb and julienne zucchini; the result is a thick soup and we ate it with crusty bread.

I usually cook mussels in white wine with herbs, garlic and sometimes orange peel, but it is so easy to achieve a totally different taste by using different herbs and adding a few different vegetables.

She used oregano as the herb but thyme or tarragon would also work –these are the herbs of Provence. Because fennel was used in her recipe I have suggested using Pernod or Ricard (anise-flavoured alcohol) rather than wine or adding some crushed fennel seeds to enhance the anise taste. This is optional.

On the day that we cooked the mussels we had gone to a market and we had purchased some very good red carrots and small Brussels sprouts. Although I would not usually accompany a soup with side dishes of cooked vegetables, on this occasion we did – we wanted to eat them while they were so fresh.

I do not just cook Sicilian, and on this occasion I cooked the Brussels sprouts with garlic and apple.

The red carrots I cooked with spring onions, caraway seeds, orange peel, some Puy lentils (left over from the night before) and some pomegranate molasses.

We ended up eating these as a starter.

A fine meal we all had!

INGREDIENTS
black mussels, scrubbed, bearded (these were vacuum packed,1.2k)
600g ripe tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 leek, sliced
2 zucchini, cut julienne (thin, long strips)
3 spring onions or shallots, cut finely
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 orange, juice and peel
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tablespoons dry white wine or 2 of Pernod or Ricard
fresh oregano leaves, tarragon or thyme (to taste)
pinch of saffron threads (soaked in a little hot water for 2 mins)
½ cup olive oil
500m (2 cups) fish or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley to decorate.

PROCESSES
Sauté garlic, leek, fennel and spring onions over low heat until the vegetables have softened.
Add wine (or Pernod), fennel seeds, herbs, saffron and tomatoes. Simmer for a few minutes.
Add stock, cover and cook on low heat (as you would cook a soup) for about 30 mins.
Blend the soup – it should be quite thick. Reheat and bring to the boil.
Add the orange peel and orange juice and zucchini and cook for a few minutes.
Add the mussels, cover and cook until the mussels open.
Sprinkle some parsley on top.
Place into soup bowls and serve with some crusty bread.

COZZE CON SAMBUCA (Mussels with Sambuca- anise flavoured liqueur)

Tag: Mediterranean flavoured Mussels

COZZE IN BRODETTO (mussels in a little broth)

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MUSSELS WITH FRENCH FLAVOURS (Provencale)

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