Mussels with my Italian simple elegant touch. So simple, inexpensive and quick to prepare This dish would feed four as a starter or two as a main meal, with fresh bread to dip in the sauce.

I bought a whole bag of fresh mussels from my local supermarket for the cost of £3.50, (so cheap). These mussels are so easy to prepare. You really need to embrace the whole experience and just go for it.

Preparing your mussels.
De-beard these little morsels of loveliness. Simply pull of the loose bits from the mussel and place into a bowl of ice cold water to clean.Make sure to wash the mussels well, removing any grit. The rule of thumb is if the mussel is open already then its no good, they should all be closed as they go into the pot. Then if any have not opened, discard them!! Safety first and you don’t want a dickie tummy!

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin of tomato’s
1 glass of white wine or vermouth
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
small bunch of parsley chopped
bag of fresh mussels, cleaned and prepared
salt and pepper
1. Into a large saucepan add a glug of olive oil. Tip in the chopped onion and crushed garlic. Cook slowly for about 5 minutes.
2. Pour in the white wine and cook down for about 4 minutes, (smells good).
3. Tumble in the tin of tomato’s, add in the dried herbs and add in lots of seasoning, salt and pepper.
4. Cook for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Now add in the cleaned mussels. Clamp on the lid and cook for around 3-4 minutes. Finish with chopped  parsley. Shake the sauce pan so that the mussels take on the tomato sauce.
When the mussels have open then you are good to serve. Large bowl, lots of bread and dip, dip, dip.
Enjoy.
Carmela x
?
Finished and ready to eat, simple Italian mussels.