Mussels With Anchovy Tomato Sauce Food

BERTHA'S FAVORITE MUSSELS

Steps:

• In a mortar and pestle, pulverize garlic, anchovies, tomato pulp, and pepper. Add lemon juice gradually and mix thoroughly to a soft paste. Set aside.
• In chicken fryer pan with deep sides, saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Add mussels and 1/2 cup of the wine. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until mussels open, about 10 to 15 minutes. Do not allow to dry out. Add more wine, if needed. Take out mussels, arrange on a serving platter.
• To pan juices (add more wine, if needed), add the garlic paste. Stir thoroughly. Pour over mussels. Decorate with basil leaves and serve with hunks of good Italian peasant bread (for sopping up juice).

TOMATO HERB MUSSELS

Steps:

• In a large saute pan over high heat, bring the oil to the verge of smoking. Then add the onions, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook the onions until softened. After cooking the onions 2 to 3 minutes, add the potatoes and garlic. Again cook for 2 minutes, and then finish with the wine. Allow the wine to reduce by half, and then add the mussels and sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and allow the mussels to warm and the liquid to reduce again, one-quarter volume total. Finally, add the herbs, stir and serve with bread of choice.

PASTA WITH MUSSELS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Pulse tomatoes with juices in food processor just a few times to break down into a coarse purée; set aside. Bring large pot of water to boil for pasta.
• Meanwhile, in a wide skillet or saucepan with lid, combine crushed garlic clove and shallot with white wine. Bring to a boil and add mussels. Cover and cook, shaking pan from time to time, 2 to 4 minutes, or until mussels open up. Check mussels after 2 minutes; transfer open mussels to a bowl using tongs. Cover pan again, wait another minute, and repeat until all mussels have opened.
• Leave mussels to cool in bowl until easily removed from shells. Remove half from shells and leave other half intact. Taste a mussel; if it is sandy, give them all a very quick rinse and drain in a colander. Transfer to a bowl and keep covered while you make tomato sauce.
• Place a strainer over another bowl, line with cheesecloth and strain the liquid in the pan into bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup. Rinse and dry pan.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat in pan and add minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes, thyme or marjoram (or both), and sugar.
• Turn heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring often, 5 to 10 minutes, until tomatoes have cooked down slightly. Add 1/2 cup broth from mussels, stir together and bring to a simmer. Taste and add salt as needed (you may not need to add any). Tip all mussels, shelled and unshelled, into sauce, cover and turn heat to very low or remove from heat if not serving right away. Keep warm while you cook pasta.
• Warm a large bowl for the pasta. When water for pasta comes to a rolling boil, salt generously and add pasta. Cook al dente, following the directions on the package. Drain and toss in the warm bowl with tomato sauce, mussels and parsley. Serve right away.