When last we left our veggie stock, I had plans for it; plans starting, but by no means ending, with a 3.99 box of mussels from my local market’s freezer case. The Chilean bivalves, I was assured, were well and truly raised with a minimum of fuss and bother and chemical additives.
Then, they added the garlic butter sauce…
*sigh* Well, I can’t help how they were shipped, but I most certainly can help how they’re finished.
INGREDIENTS
•1 (1 lb) box frozen mussels
•2 tbsp unsalted butter
•2 tbsp olive oil
•1 cup red onion, diced
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 cup canned diced fire-roasted tomatoes
•Freshly chopped parsley
•1 cup nice white wine
•1 cup veggie stock
First off, have yourself a glass of the white wine while putting this all together – no sense in wasting the bottle – I went with a rather nice Chardonnay.
Drain the tomatoes well before measuring, reserving the rest of the can for another use – I happened to need mine for a red chile sauce coming soon to this site.
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large, non-aluminum pot over medium high heat.
Add the red onion and sauté for five minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté for another three to four minutes.
Add the parsley – I love parsley, so add a lot and don’t really measure – tomatoes, stock and wine and bring to a boil.
Taste and add a bit of sea salt and good black pepper, if needed.
Add the frozen mussels, along with whatever that ‘sauce’ they’re packed in to the pot, then cover and cook for five more minutes.
Done!
In next to no time, you have a pretty darned fantastic tasting dish.
Discard any mussels that haven’t opened during cooking, and transfer the rest, along with that lovely broth, to a large bowl.
This one pound box of mussels served exactly one – me – for dinner, along with a few nice slices of crusty ciabatta bread to soak up the broth.
As a bonus, I had enough of that oh! so tasty broth leftover to stash in the fridge and serve for lunch the next day – along with a few more slices of my new favorite bread.
Not bad for a 3.99 box from the freezer case.
Not bad at all.