Pasta with white wine and mussels
By Amanda Scali

20/01/2020 12:42pm

Pasta with white wine and mussels

As beautiful summer nights roll on, we are blessed in South Australia with delicious and fresh seafood at our disposal.

This pasta dish is the perfect date night dish with your loved one for a special treat, or maybe to celebrate Valentine’s Day next month.

What you’ll need:

1 cup dry white wine
2 lbs mussels
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
12 ounces spaghetti, linguine or your favourite pasta
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Method:

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, in a large pan, combine the wine with the bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Add the mussels, cover and cook over high heat, shaking the pan a few times, until the mussels open, about 5 minutes. Drain the mussels in a colander set over a medium bowl, reserving the broth.

Discard any unopened mussels and the bay leaves.

Heat the olive oil in the skillet. Add the garlic and cook over low heat just until golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Add the crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Slowly pour in the reserved mussel broth, stopping if you reach any sand at the bottom of the bowl.

Add the lemon juice and peas and simmer over moderately high heat until the sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 8 minutes.

Pour the melted butter over the mussels and toss to coat.

Add the buttered mussels to the hot spaghetti and mussel sauce and toss over low heat until the pasta is uniformly coated.

Season with salt and pepper transfer to warmed shallow bowls and serve at once garnish with fresh parsley.