Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lbs. live black mussels
- Salt and pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, 2 minced and 1 cut in half for the crostini
- 1 baguette of crusty bread
- 1 bunch parsley
- 4 Roma tomatoes, diced, or any of your summer garden tomatoes
- A big glass of white wine
- 1 small lemon, juiced
- 1 big pinch of saffron
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl with cold water, ice and a big handful of salt; mix to dissolve. Clean the mussels by vigorously rinsing and pulling out any beards. Place in the salt-water bath for about 1 hour to let the mussels expel any sand.
- Make the crostini by slicing the bread ½-inch thick. Heat oven to 350-degrees. Place the bread slices on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping them over once, until the bread is crusty on top. Remove from the oven, rub with the cut garlic clove and sprinkle with a little salt.
- In a large pan with a lid, warm a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and chopped parsley and some salt and pepper. Stir until the garlic is lightly browned.
- Add the diced tomatoes and stir. Cook until the tomatoes become soft but not too mushy. Add the white wine and cook for a minute more.
- Add the mussels, saffron and lemon juice. Combine and cover with the lid. Cook until the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that don’t open.
- Serve in big bowls including lots of broth along with the crostini for dipping in the mussel broth.