What has happened to my spare time? With all the best intentions in the world, I just haven’t been able to sit down at the computer and write my weekly blog posts. A mixture of I suppose a busy social life (September is after all the most popular month for being born) and surviving a stressful three-month period at work which I hope is almost ending and which might mean I get some “me” time back and can start religiously blogging again!

In the meantime, it’s been mussel season here in Holland with cafes and restaurants overflowing with Zeeuwse mussels (Zeeland is the province in Holland where most of the Dutch mussels come from, and everything that comes from Zeeland is “Zeeuws” therefore they are Zeeuwse mussels ). Zeeuwse mussels are a lot smaller than the green-lipped mussels from New Zealand, and I’m afraid it’s been too long since I had a NZ mussel so I can’t really compare the taste! But they are nevertheless delicious and this recipe from Annabel Langbein’s “Savour Italy” cookbook is my favourite mussel recipe to date – they are to die for!

Sicilian mussels with citrus tomatoes & chilli

Serves 4

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

5 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

5 min

Ingredients

30-40 live mussels
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
2 tins of tomatoes (chopped or whole)
1 lemon
1 chilli
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup fresh orange juice
freshly ground black pepper
fresh coriander

Instructions

Scrub your mussels clean and remove the beards (in Holland this is normally already done for you). Discard any dead mussels – if the shells are closed then they should be alive. If any are open, you can check if they are alive by tapping the shell which should cause them to shut. If they remain open, then you know it’s no longer alive.
Throw the tinned tomatoes into a food processor (or you could use a stick blender) and process until pureed. Set aside.
Juice your lemon and set aside.
Finely chop the chilli and set aside (discard the seeds)
Heat oil in a large heavy pot (a Dutch oven or a special mussel pot is ideal).
Finely chop your onion, garlic, and rosemary.
Throw the onion into the pot and cook for a few minutes until they are soft.
Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, making sure that the garlic doesn’t burn.
Add the mussels, rosemary, honey, vinegar, and white wine.
Cover and cook until the mussels open, removing them from the pot as they do and setting them aside.
Once all the mussels are cooked and set aside, add the 3/4 cup of white wine, the pureed tomatoes, orange juice, lemon juice, and chilli to the pot. Cover and boil for five minutes.
Return mussels to the pot, season with the freshly ground pepper and cover simmering for another minute.
Serve the mussels in deep bowls with the sauce poured over the top and lashings of fresh coriander.