When my parents came over I wanted to make a really yummy appetizer and since we live so close to one of the best little seafood markets (Bruce’s Market, in Maple Ridge) that has very fresh and reasonably priced seafood I had to make mussels. My mom LOVES seafood, well my dad does too, but she is the only person I know who primarily orders seafood when we go out for dinner.

Bobby Flay is one of my go-to guys for easy recipes and since I have never made mussels before as an appy I went to one of his recipes for inspiration. I of course changed it and was amazed on how easy it was and how delicious it was.

The recipe below is my version!

Ingredients

• 1-2 cloves garlic minded or finely grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 shallots, coarsely chopped
• 1 cups dry white wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 2 pounds cultivated mussels, scrubbed
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• ½ tsp (or less, I didn`t measure) rosemary
• 2 chopped roma tomatoes
• 1-2 tablespoons Italian flat leave parsley chopped
• Couple dashes of Tabasco (not to make it spicy, just more depth)
• 1 baguette, halved lengthwise (or any kind of bread)

Directions

Heat the oil in a stockpot on the med-high to high, add garlic, shallots and quickly fry until fragrant and shallots start to soften. Add the wine, bring to a boil and stir in the mussels. Cover the pot and cook the mussels until all of them have opened, about 6 to 8 minutes, discard any that do not open. Do not overcook, when they’re open they’re done.

Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer and whisk in the butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and stir in the thyme, rosemary, tomatoes, Tabasco and chicken stock. Cook for another 3-5 min to incorporate the flavours. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add parsley and pour the mixture over the mussels and serve immediately with grilled bread.

Brush cut side of baguette with oil or garlic butter, season with salt and pepper and broil until golden brown. Serve with mussels.

The sauce is runny and is perfect for sopping up with the bread. If you prefer it a bit thicker you could reduce the sauce but your mussels will get cold by the time it’s reduced enough or add a thickener to the sauce. I loved it the way it was though.

I know, I know…terrible photo. This is right when I added the mussels to the wine liquid. This was one of those meals that we couldn`t wait to eat and it wasn`t until it was finished did I think about taking a photo. Oops!