Ligurian mussel sauce is the perfect condiment for both dry and fresh pasta. I, for example, really love using it to dress spaghetti.
This traditional sauce is unusual because it is red due to the presence of tomato sauce and because the shellfish must be shelled and chopped. I leave quite a few whole to make the dish more elegant… but in the end what counts is the flavour which I can assure you is very good.
Very popular along the Italian coast, mussels are king on the table of those who love seafood. Their consumption is so widespread that internal production does not manage to meet local needs and many are imported from Greece and Spain.
Personally I always buy Italian products (for example, the mussels from La Spezia and Olbia that I find at my fishmongers). They must be very fresh, alive and have a good “sea” smell… that way our sauce will be really delicious!
See also:
Ingredients
Tools
Steps
Clean the mussels. Wash them under running water and then scrape the shells forcefully with the small knife to remove any barnacles or other attachments. Pull off the beard (or the threads that characterize it). Wash them again under running water.
Note: if you find damaged mussels or ones that are open before cooking or that remain closed after cooking they must be discarded.
Open the mussels in a large saucepan. The heat of the stove will make the shells open.
Remove from the pan and shell. Filter and put aside some of the liquid produced during cooking, it will be needed to add flavour to the sauce.
Mince half the mussels with the crescent-shaped mincing knife and keep the others aside. Chop the pine nuts, keeping a few whole.
Lightly fry the clove of garlic, a small amount of red chilli pepper and all the pine nuts in the extra virgin olive oil for two minutes, then add the tomato sauce and a small amount of the liquid produced by the mussels when they were opened. Cook for 15 minutes.
Add all the mussels and cook over a high heat for 4/5 minutes. Season with salt. Turn off the heat and add a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do you have a recipe for muscle sauce without tomato?
Yes but in Italian, you can find it by clicking here.
Varied doses for servings