I would like to show you a recipe that once I tried in a typical Idols’ situation (emergency) in Sicily. Many people may think and say that does not respect the classical cooking rules, but I’m not a chef so I can try without so much expectations and go out of patterns and ingredients combinations rule. Sometimes we are driven by the taste and the ability to adapt to the context and what this can offer [read.. you do what you can]. Therefore I was in Sicily, Scicli [which I highly recommend you to visit, these are the places of the mythical “Montalbano” TV series based on Camilleri’s novels] and at 21 o’clock the only shop still open was just a fish shop with my mussels and the white wine waiting for me. That night I did really want to cook, have dinner at home and relaxing after a fantastic day out in my favorite TV series places.
So I bought 1 kg of fresh mussels and I run at home to prepare my Spaghettino. Once home I realized that I dud not have the final touch, the spice that gives the fragrance to the dish … I was missing the parsley, but I had this basil plant on the balcony that had this magnificent bright green color and a scent that you could smeel in the morning and inspiring to have breakfast with tomato sauce and fresh basil. So … who cares with rules! Let’s try with basil the sauce and mussels [which is kinda the same concept of who uses parmesan cheese over pasta with fish] …. De gustibus non disputandum est
SPAGHETTI WITH MUSSELS
Ingredients for 2 people
– 250 gr of spaghetti
– 1 kg of mussels (to clean or already cleaned … in any case, I would boil anyway)
– 400 gr of tomato sauce (the best Mutti)
– 10 cherry tomatoes
– 1 red chilli
– 1 clove of garlic
– 1/2 shallot
– Extra virgin olive oil
– Salt
– 20 gr fresh basil
1. After cleaning the mussels ripping off the filament that are in the middle of the 2 shells, put them in a pot with water and bring them to boil around 5 minutes.
2. Once mussels are open, take out water (keep some in a cup we will use it later) and take out from the shell. Keep with shell just some for decoration
3. Chop the shallots, cut into 4 pieces the garlic and pour in a pan where you heated a little olive oil, let fired for 30 seconds, then add the sauce and cherry tomatoes.
4. Some water, 3 pinches of salt, a pinch of sugar, cover and let cook over low fire around 15 minutes. The sauce with tomatoes and pieces is very dense but extremely tasty, and I prefer in this way.
5. Put on fire the pen with water for cooking spaghetti
6. Pour the mussels into the sauce and add the red pepper cut into small pieces, and a leaf of basil, cook for around 10 minutes, depending if you like on the sauce more or less dense. If too dry add a little bit of mussels’ water that you keep apart
7. Drain the spaghetti and add in the pan with the sauce and again a little bit of mussels’ water.
8. Prepare and decorate the dish with fresh basil
and dive into the mussels!
Spaghetti con le cozze
In mezzo alle cozze
(da pulire o già pulite... io in ogni caso le farei bollire comunque a meno che non siate di Bari)
Ingredients:
- spaghetti - 250 gr
- cozze - 1 kg
- salsa di pomodoro (Mutti la migliore) - 400 gr
- pomodorini pachini - 10
- peperoncino rosso - 1
- aglio - 1 spicchio
- scalogno - 1/2
- olio EVO - q.b.
- basilico fresco - 20 gr
- sale - q.b.
Instructions:
1. Dopo aver pulito le cozze strappando via il filamento che trovi in mezzo ai 2 gusci mettile in una pentola con dell'acqua e portale ad ebollizione per cica 5 minuti.
2. Appena si aprono tutte puoi scolarle mettendo da parte un pò d'acqua che useremo successivamente.Sgusciale, lasciandone qualcuna per decorare poi i piatti.
3. Trita lo scalogno, taglia in 4 lo spichio d'aglio e versa in una padella dove avrai riscaldato un filo d'olio, lascia dorare per 30 secondi, poi aggiungi il sugo e i pachini.
4. Un goccio d'acqua, 3 pizzichi di sale, un pizzico di zucchero, copri e lascia cucocere a fuoco basso per circa 15 minuti. La salsa con i pomodori e pezzi è molto densa ma estremamente saporita, io la preferisco.
5. Porta l'acqua in ebolizzione per la cottura degli spaghetti.
6. Versa le cozze nel sugo e aggiungi il peperoncino tagliato a pezzettini, e una foglia di basilico, cuoci per altri 10 minuti, a secondo che il sugo ti piaccia più denso o meno. Se troppo asciutto aggiungi un pò d'acqua delle cozze che hai tenuto da parte.
7. Scola gli spaghetti al dente e saltali in padella con il sugo.
8. Prepara e decora a piacere il piatto con il basilico fresco e tuffati in mezzo alle cozze!
Really informative article post. Awesome.