Cooking mussels requires little more than steaming them in some liquid until they pop open. How easy is that? In this recipe, beer serves as a tasty alternative to water or wine. Serve with some crusty bread for sopping up the briny liquid, and you’ve just created a restaurant-worthy dish for a fraction of the price (and no tip required).
Ingredients
- 2 tsp grapeseed oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1¼ tsp table salt
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup dark beer
- 2 pound mussels
- 2 medium whole (2-3/5" dia) tomatoes
- ½ lemon yields lemon juice
- ½ tsp, ground thyme
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes
- ¼ tsp, ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Prep:
Cook:
Total:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and salt; cook until onion is softened and beginning to darken, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and heat 1 minute.
- Place beer, tomatoes, lemon juice, thyme, chili flakes, and black pepper in pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Add mussels to pan, cover, raise heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, or until the shells have popped open. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Stir in parsley.
- Serve mussels and broth in a bowl with lots of fresh bread on hand.