Mussel Linguine

Autumn is now in full swing and it’s not the sunny, crispy leaves autumn kind of weather either! It is grey, cold and wet – summer is offically over. Yet autumn is actually one of my favourite seasons for food. Pumpkins are stacked up in the supermarket ready for halloween leaving the leftovers tasting delicious in this pumpkin soup. There is also no shortage of apples and it’s the perfect weather to cosy up with a cup of tea and a slice of this apple cake. But it is mussel season that is my favourite and I was quick to cook up a batch of these mussles cooked in a tomato and basil broth!

Mussel season is short and luckily my local supermarket often has fresh mussels stocked during this time. If you buy them fresh then you need to eat them right away which is why this recipe is a favourite of mine to make on a Saturday. It is simple to throw together and tastes delicious. My quick garlic bread is a great one to soak up all the leftover broth!

Ingredients – serves 4

1kg fresh mussels (I buy mine already prepared and scrubbed but give them a quick scrub anyway)

Handful of cherry tomatoes (halved)

Small bunch fresh parsley (finely chopped)

Small bunch fresh basil (finely chopped)

1 small onion (peeled and finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed)

1 red chilli (sliced)

75ml single cream

Small slice of butter

1 small glass of white wine

Linquine (cooked according to packet instructions and enough to serve 4)

Olive oil

Salt/ Black Pepper

Juice of half a lemon

• Whie the linguine is cooking heat a large deep pan with 1 tbpsn olive oil. Add the onions and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook on a medium heat until the onions begin to soften.
• Add the chilli and tomatoes to the pan with the onions. Add the butter and mix well. Pour in the cream and white wine and bring to a gentle simmer.
• Add the mussels to the pan and leave to steam for around 7 – 10 minutes. The shells will then open. Discard any mussels where the shells remain closed.
• Drain the linguine and add back to the pan. Pour in a bit of the broth (about 50ml)  from the pan with the mussels. Mix well with the linguine.
• Take a seive and separate bowl. Put the sieve over the bowl and then pour in the mussels. Keep the broth in the bowl and add the mussels, tomatoes and chilli mix in with the pasta. Toss everything together, stir in the fresh herbs and season with black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Plate up the linquine and mussels and serve.

I usually serve the bowl of broth on the side with the garlic bread. If you are making the bread you only need a small amount of pasta. If you serve too much broth with the pasta it will just go soggy. But it is such a shame to waste it!