My husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this month and as self-proclaimed food-lovers, we decided to make ourselves a simple, but elegant dinner to enjoy together at home. These Spicy Mussels with Wine and Chorizo were perfect for our dinner and didn’t require a lot of time to put together!
How do you celebrate special occasions? Do you go out to a fancy dinner? Have a meal at home on your best china? Do people still have china? When we got married we didn’t register for any place settings or China that I recall. Of course, we were very young and went from “We should set a date for the wedding” to “I do” in six weeks. There wasn’t time to register anywhere!
For our honeymoon, we camped up the coast of California, enjoying the sights and sounds of this magnificent state. One of the things we love best about California is the abundance of seafood right off our shores. What better way to celebrate a milestone anniversary, than finding some California mussels to steam in a garlic, wine and tomato sauce? Then we added some spice! We started with two pounds of fresh mussels, cleaned and de-bearded. Discard any shells that are cracked or don’t close immediately when you tap them on the counter. Mussels must be cooked alive. Eating a dead mussel could be very bad for you. No one wants digestive issues when you’re celebrating something special!
Another great thing about this dish? It’s all done in one pan! Whoo! Which for me, translates to less dishes to clean up after dinner! This is always a good thing.
We really enjoyed the flavors of the red pepper flakes and the spicy chorizo in this dish. It balances nicely with the garlic and wine. You’re going to need a loaf of thick crusty bread to go with this. There has to be something to sop up all that delicious broth! Since we were celebrating, we may have opened another bottle of wine to go with it too. You should do the same. Just sayin’.
When your spicy mussels are done steaming (remember to throw away any mussels that didn’t open) serve in shallow bowl with some torn basil on top. It’s a perfect romantic dinner! Two pounds of mussels is far too much for two people (as we learned) but would work well for a family of four! Use this dish to celebrate good friends or special family occasions.
Spicy Mussels with Wine and Chorizo
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 medium size brown onion diced
- 2 large shallots diced
- 8 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes adjust to your personal preference
- 2 cups dry white wine I used Yellow Tail, Pinot Grigio
- 4 roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 5 1/2 oz dried spicy chorizo, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- 2 lbs mussels scrubbed and debearded
- Fresh basil chiffonade, to sprinkle over the top of individual servings
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large, heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- Add wine to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Add tomatoes and chorizo. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- Add cleaned mussels. Cover and continue to cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until mussels open, about 8 - 10 minutes. (discard any unopened mussels)
- Add basil; toss. Serve immediately with crunchy french bread!
So here’s to great dinners, great romances and easy recipes to bring them both together! Till next time, friends! Make life delicious!
I always prefer cooking on special occasions as well and your mussels look like the perfect dish. Congratulations on your anniversary!
This looks as delicious as it is beautiful ~ Happy Anniversary!!