I get it, cooking seafood can be intimidating.. so let’s start easy with some shellfish and let the ingredients sing for themselves. But I promise, this dish is super easy to make with only a handful of ingredients. Tip: Ask your fish monger to clean your mussels for you beforehand to cut out the prep work. You’d be surprised how quick and easy this dish is to put together so crack open a bottle of wine, break some bread and let’s make this together!

Ingredients

500g mussels (or 10-15 mussels)
1/2 onion or 1 shallot, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Chilli flakes
1 cup white wine (i used Pinot Grigio but you could also use Sauvignon Blanc)
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2 tbs butter
1/2-1 lemon, juice and zest
Handful of parsley, chopped
Bread of choice, toasted

Remember to check your mussels before you cook them. If your mussels are open or cracked, they’re dead so please don’t use them or you’re going to get sick (they should also smell quite off so definitely don’t use them!).

Another tip with mussels: ask your fish monger to clean them for you beforehand. If not, you would need to remove the beard and the excess debris on the shell.

Method

Clean your mussels by removing the beard and dirt from the shells (either with a knife or scrubbing brush). If your mussels are cracked or open, they are dead, discard.

In a pot over low-medium heat, drizzle 4-5tbs of olive oil. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes and chilli flakes, sauté until onion is translucent and the tomatoes are soft.

Add mussels, white wine and butter into the pot. Cover and cook until the mussels have all opened up.

Add the juice and zest of a lemon and top with parsley. Serve with toasted bread.