This traditional spaghetti with mussels alla Tarantina from Puglia in Southern Italy is unbelievably tasty, easy to prepare and will definitely impress your guests! An authentic Italian pasta recipe!
PREPARATION TIME:
PREP TIME 20 minutes
COOK TIME 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME 50 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg fresh mussels (2.2lbs)
- 400 g spaghetti alla chitarra (14oz) or normal spaghetti or linguine
- 500 g small tomatoes (13.5oz) cut into quarters or 350 g tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon peperoncino flakes (red chilli pepper) or chopped fresh peperoncino
- 3 garlic cloves 2 chopped finely, 1 only peeled
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
- 100 ml white wine (3.5floz)
- salt for pasta and to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
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Wash the mussels well. remove all the debris on the shells with a wire brush and remove the beards.
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Put a deep pan or skillet on the stove with 2 tbsp. of olive oil, the peeled garlic clove and some chopped parsley.
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Warm the oil up a little, then add the mussels and the white wine. Allow the alcohol to evaporate then cover with a lid. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells have opened.
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Allow the mussels to cool down a little, then discard all the mussels that didn’t open. Keep 3-4 mussels per person in their shells and remove the other mussels from their shells. Filter the mussel cooking liquid and set aside.
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Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it starts to boil add salt.
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In a frying pan, sauté the chopped garlic and peperoncino flakes in 2 tablespoon of olive oil, add the finely chopped tomatoes or tomato passata, a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Simmer over a low heat for 5-10 minutes.
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Add the all the mussels (with shells and without) and their filtered cooking liquid to the tomato sauce.
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Mix well and continue cooking over a low heat for a few minutes, until the liquid has reduced to a good consistency.
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Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
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When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the pan with the mussels and tomato sauce. Mix everything together well. Plate the pasta and mussels allocating a 3-4 mussels in their shells to each plate.
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Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley.
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NOTE
This dish can also be eaten with bread instead of pasta. However, in that case, it’s better to leave most the mussels in their shells.
You can make this dish spicier by adding more peperoncino, depending on how spicy you like it!
NUTRITION
Calories: 635kcalCarbohydrates: 85gProtein: 29gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 380mgPotassium: 952mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1330IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 74mgIron: 7mg
