Spicy Steamed Mussels

Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023

Handling mussels, like handling all seafood, is kind of freaky. You wonder what they’re thinking the entire time you’re walking home from the fishmonger. Shell-shocked? Absolutely panic-stricken? After all, the last week or so had to have been the most harried of their lives—being forcibly removed from their homes, plunked onto a bed of ice, removed from the bed of ice, and tossed carelessly into a plastic bag.

I guess I have the tendency to personify bivalves, crustaceans, and all gill-bearing creatures. In one instance, they’re the weird creepy-crawly organisms you study in biology class, living in their watery ecosystems like citizens of another planet. In another, they’re dinner. On your plate, deveined, cracked, peeled, sometimes deep-fried (if you’re lucky!), and dispersed among plates. And somewhere along the way, you’re responsible for this transformation.

Can you tell I’m not used to handling seafood?

I feel like I should apologize. I’m the worst marketing writer ever. Because how am I supposed to convince you to make this recipe when you’ve now got the image of death-by-steaming on your mind?

Because seafood is delectable, that’s why. And I was quickly able to overcome lay aside my misgivings once the sauce was heartily boiling away, and again later upon uncovering the pot and being smacked in the face by the briny, wine-y aroma of fresh-steamed mussels.

So here’s what, people: steaming your own mussels is not only incredibly easy, but also wonderful in the way only home-cooked meals can be.

For our last lunch in Montauk, we decided to order a heaping plate of steamed mussels served in an uber-creamy, uber-buttery sauce that was so delicious, we ate way more bread than we intended and ended up spoiling our appetites for dinner. With that meal in mind, I decided to try reproducing its decadence a few days later. I steamed three pounds of mussels in a creamy white wine sauce that was simultaneously soul-satisfying but also heavy beyond belief. So, because I wanted more mussels but less cream, I decided to veer in a lighter direction, and go with a spicy tomato-based sauce full of flavor but not fat.

I hate to make it sound like diet food. It’s not. Because you have to serve the mussels with lots of crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Or you could serve it atop pasta and feel a very balanced meal taking shape.

First, though, overcome your mussel-handling fears. At least it’s not a lobster.

SPICY STEAMED MUSSELS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Adapted from SELF

Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp EVOO
15 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
2 teaspoons salt
2 pounds mussels
2-1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Clean mussels thoroughly and remove beards (but only right before cooking). Discard any mussels with broken shells or ones that won’t close if you push the shell down for a few seconds.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sliced garlic, scallions and salt, stirring occasionally, until scallions and garlic color slightly, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and pepper flakes, and use your spatula to break up the tomatoes a little. Add the wine and mussels. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until mussels open, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard any mussels that don’t open. Uncover pan and add parsley; toss to combine. Divide mussels evenly among 4 bowls and spoon broth over them. Serve with bread.

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Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, and other Weekend Stories

Salad

Christiana George

Updated Date:
June 8, 2023

This weekend was beautiful, warm but not hot, today especially. So I took a break from the kitchen.

I bought grapes, the first of the season! While I was sad to learn that my favorite kind, muscat, is not grown in this area, I was delighted to discover many other varieties that smelled like perfume and tasted as sweet as candy. Apparently a lot of grapes are grown up near Ithaca. That’s not so very far away from here, is it?

I saw a man walking nonchalantly by my favorite home on Manhattan. It’s beautiful, and he didn’t even bat an eye. Maybe he walks by it all the time, maybe he lives just a few doors down, maybe he has no appreciation for lush, gorgeous ivy covering a stately brick exterior. Or maybe I’m just particularly sensitive towards the aesthetically pleasing. All I know is, whenever I pass it, I have stop, sigh, and admire.

I went to Chinatown and bought boba, also known as bubble milk tea. Have you ever had it? It’s probably my favorite beverage in the world, un-eclipsable by anything else, alcoholic or non-. Truthfully, Chris and I make the trip to Chinatown often to buy boba, at least twice a week. Our favorite spot is located on Canal Street, but it’s too expensive for addicts like us. So we go to another spot that’s decent, but made all the sweeter by the fact that it has a 2-for-1 deal. Alas, Chatime we’ll have to reserve for special occasions.

I had two credit cards stolen. I believe the theft occurred in a coffee shop near NYU, the unlikeliest of places if you ask me. And the funny thing is, I’d scooted my purse in closer because I’d felt uncomfortable by how near the party behind me sat. The exact same thing had happened to me in Bolivia: a man who’d sat a little too close for comfort, me preemptively pulling my purse in. He’d managed to get away with about $7 worth of cash. The thief in New York had unsuccessfully tried making a $900+ purchase at the Apple store on both cards. It serves her (her? him? Would a man try to pass a card with a woman’s name on it as his?) right.

Before all this happened, on Friday, I roasted tomatoes.

I think I might’ve mentioned that I like my tomatoes raw, with just a touch of olive oil and salt. But in the case of cherry tomatoes, well, roasting them slowly on low heat, is a one-up.

The taste pierces. It’s so sharply sweet and intense, tomato condensed and condensed some more until all its taste is packaged in a shriveled, innocuous mass. For these tomatoes, I’m willing to turn my oven on, the oven that had traumatized me weeks ago, the oven that I’d vowed to part ways with until after Labor Day, until after temperatures dip below the 80′s once and for all.

A little goes a long way. I’ll be tossing them in salads, on sandwiches, on bagels, in pasta, whenever I need a boost of tomato action. Which could be anytime inspiration strikes, like when I walk by the fridge.

Yup, my weekend was punctuated by tomatoes. They’re a good thing to have around when I’m dealing with my credit card companies’ fraud departments on the phone. And for easing myself back into the work week.

Happy Monday, friends.

SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES

Ingredients:

Cherry tomatoes
Olive oil
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees (Note: My oven only goes down to 300 degrees, so I had to roast them at this temperature.)

Cut the tomatoes in half. Toss with the olive oil (so they’re lightly covered) and lay the halves on a baking sheet, cut side up, along with the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast the tomatoes for 2 to 3 hours until they shrivel but are still juicy on the inside. (Note: Because my oven was at 300 degrees, I had to turn the oven off after about an hour and 15 minutes because the tomatoes in the corners had started burning. I won’t lose any to the carbonizing effects of heat!)

To store, let the tomatoes cool and put them in a covered jar in the fridge. You may need to cover them with some extra olive oil.