showing off my mussels

I should start this post with a DISCLAIMER: I'm not the most experienced chef. As the "baby" of the family, it's a running joke that I don't know how to boil water, despite the fact that both my sisters and my parents are SUPERB in the kitchen! In the last few years I've thrown caution to the wind (literally, I'm terribly un-cautious: in fact, and have frequently charc'ed food, ruined pans, started fires and lets not forget the eternal scalding of my hands and wrists no matter what I cook!) and gotten my hands dirty. I'm no culinary genius but with a good set of instructions and an empty stomach I can usually get the job done and it's sometimes even edible!

Last summer, I became a new resident of beautiful Vancouver (again - I'd previously lived here for a 6 month practicum) and I found I still felt a little something like a tourist for most of the summer. That was fine by me. I tried to take advantage of what Vancouver had to offer and oh, the many things there are.

However, one loooong, slow night shift at the hospital had me thinking of beautiful Victoria, where my sister, Rebecca, has lived for the last 8ish years. In truth, I had a strange, 4:30am mussel craving. "Mussels de cha cha cha" to be exact. There is a restaurant in Victoria called "Tapa Bar" which makes mussels steamed in a fiery-hot, delish (yes, that's a flavour descriptor) sauce with bread for dipping; an absolute favorite of Rebecca and I's. Since the craving arose strong that night (including mouth-watering.... maybe I should eat more on night shifts?), I decided I'd attempt my own version of this dish!

Naturally, I ventured to the tourist-hub and fishmonger extraordinaire that is Granville Island. I grabbed some fresh mussels and found the MOST delicious focaccia bread in the Public Market at Duso's pasta. I looked at recipes online and none of them seemed to be right at all so I made up my own. It turned out really nothing like cha cha cha but it was delicious nonetheless! Here's how I made my mussels happen...........


1-2lbs fresh mussels
1tsp olive oil
1/4cup onion, finely diced
1-3 red chili peppers, whole or diced depending how much spice you like
1cup dry white wine
1 tomato, finely diced
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced (I LOVE garlic and so use WAY more than 3 cloves but I figure 3 is a good normal number if you're not a garlic fanatic!)
focaccia bread in large cubes or slices


1. Scrub and de-beard your mussels. It helps to soak them in cool water and change the water every few minutes (by taking the mussels out FIRST and then draining the water and dirt so they open and any sand or dirt falls to the bottom of the bowl).

2. Saute onions in oil until soft and translucent. Add red chilis and cook another minute or two.

3. Add white wine, tomato, s&p, and garlic. Here you could also add chicken stock or fish sauce for more broth, lemon juice, other herbs such as cilantro, basil, oregano, jalapenos, etc. I've tried cilantro and that worked nicely but I'm sure you could take it where-ever you want!

4. Add your cleaned and de-bearded mussels, cover, and steam until mussels are JUST open (about 5-10minutes but after 5 minutes I watch mine very closely and as soon as most are opening up I remove from heat because they'll continue cooking in the hot broth). If there are any "dud" mussels that didn't open during the cooking process, toss 'em out!

5. Serve with bread and enjoy!

  

I know mussels are a bit scary looking but when cooked right they are soft (not chewy AT ALL) and soak up the flavours of their broth and you can eat them off the shell if you want which is kinda fun! And the sauce is amazing with a nice good bread to soak it up! If you've never tried mussels, I strongly recommend them. If you have, give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Happy experimenting!

K