Mussels in White Wine Sauce
September 30, 2008
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Mussels are one of my favorite things to order at a restaurant. No meal is ever as fun to eat as a big pot of mollusks: the interactive element is what I like best, pulling at the shells, slurping the mussels and scooping the broth. It' s not especially glamorous, but it really is so much more fun than knife and forking a fillet of fish. I love all of the different mussel iterations: marinara, curried, cream-based broths or buttered with French herbs. But despite appreciating mussels so much, I' d never deigned to make them. For some reason the idea of being responsible for so many dozens of shells opening—or not opening—was overwhelming. I thought for sure I would muck up the pot. As it turns out, mussels are among the easiest things to make—if you can stand the labor intensive element 
of de-bearding, which I left up to my ever-gracious dinner companion. I started with a blueprint from Ina Garten' s mussels in white wine recipe, but changed things somewhat…mostly by adding more tomatoes. If I were to make this again, however, I would double everything and let the sauce reduce. As it stood, the broth was light and tasty. But I' d like to try an enhanced version of the same flavors.
It all starts with soaking the mussels in flour and water to pull out the sand. I made three pounds—which 
was too many for just two people—and soaked the critters in a big mixing bowl full of 1/3 c flour. Then they were de-bearded by a pair of patient, loving hands.
In the meantime I chopped and prepped all of the other ingredients. This recipe is remarkably easy to make—just sauté some shallots and garlic then add white wine, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, saffron, salt and pepper. Throw the mussels in and in 10 minutes you' re ready. But as I said, I would double it and let things simmer a while until the sauce is thicker and richer in flavor. I served these with green salad and a honey-blue cheese bruschetta. I served these as a meal unto themselves, but they would also be a great appetizer dish at an intimate party.
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