Capers.
Brined or salted?
Large or small?
Yummy, followed to a T, but there’s no broth. Where would the broth possibly come from? The wine is greatly reduced to a “syrup” and two cups of chopped fresh tomatoes does not give off much liquid. Misleading. Do love the breadcrumbs:caper twist and will reuse.
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@Jenny
I've found that farmed mussels give off much less "liquor" than the harder to find wild mussels, which also means there is less of the briny taste.
This is the saddest article I've ever read. Why would you include an ingredient only to try hard to ignore it? It's embarrassing that Ms. Clark caves to the bland appetites of burgers-and-fries-only palates. Mussels, indeed most all shellfish and fish--the fishy kinds--are wonderful. Why offer up a recipe just to apologize for it?
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Life, and joy usually extends beyond reading recipes.
Forget the mussels ?
What is the point ?
It is true that mussels are bad in the US.
Who knows the little but full moules de Bouchot or du Mont St Michel.
Everytime I buy mussels in the US , half of them are bad and I have to be very careful before cooking them to make sure that one bad is not going to spoil the whole dish.
To the point of never buying them anymore.
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Living here in Portland, where I can get fresh, wild clams and mussels, is why I make this type of recipe 3-4 times a month.
Sure I vary the aromatics and herbs, and sometimes I'll serve with pasta, sometimes with black rice, but the basics stay the same: steamed shellfish with warm, crusty bread.
Since I just brought home some sweet and juicy heirloom tomatoes, I'll try Melissa's variant tomorrow & comment under the recipe.
P.S. -> I still miss the Melissa Clark videos.
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@ Gregory E Howward Portland, OR
I hope you are not forgetting a dry white wine, for cooking the mussels in, and you will not be disappointed by the addition of the tomatoes to this dish.
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@ Marge Keller Midwest
I am on the other side of the spectrum: the only pasta I moderately like is spaghetti or macaroni with cottage and grated sharp cheese. Mussels cooked in dry white wine are excellent, and I use an open shell to extract the molluscs from other shells. But I do not go as far as the article recommends, to use an empty shell as a spoon.
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@Tuvw Xyz Cheese with mussels ???
never !
Never cheese with fish. Cream yes but no cheese.
Please !
Ask Italians or French.
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@JPHUnless we're talking about McDonald's fish fillet (which has cheese). I know, not a great choice but it remains a forbidden guilty pleasure. Funny thing; I asked a local chef what her guilty pleasure was and she had the same answer. Go figure.
I've never been a mussels kind of gal but I can see myself making this either an entirely vegetarian meal or substituting shrimp and linguine into the recipe.
Dang - that pasta and sauce looks great.
Well done Simon Andrews!!!
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