Pasta Mama

I love pasta and so does my family. There are so many different kinds and shapes on the market.  Last night I made my husband mussels with angel hair.  I bought the mussels at Costco for $12.99, I think there were about 2 1/2 lbs of them, and they were cleaned already! They were a good deal and I was lucky enough to have gotten the last package.  So I steamed them and ate them as an appetizer on Sunday and on Monday made him this dish.  The appetizer recipe is below and to eat those leftovers just add cooked pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and grated parmesan cheese.  Fantastic!

Mussels with Sun Dried Tomatoes

For the Crumbs:

2 cups of seasoned toasted croutons

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 Tbls. sun dried tomatoes drained and chopped

6 basil leaves, rolled and sliced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine the croutons, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until crumbs are coarsely chopped.  Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper until combined. Set aside.

NOTE:  No food processor? No worries - just put the croutons in a zip loc bag and roll with rolling pin until  you have course crumbs.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

For the Mussels:

3 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup of white wine or white cooking wine

2 - 2 1/2 lbs. mussels, washed and beards removed ( Fill a large bowl with cold water. Stir in about 3 Tbls. of flour.   Put the mussels in the water until they are covered.  Let them sit for 1/2 hour.  You can remove the beards by grabbing the end of it and and pulling it off.  If any mussels are already opened discard them.)

1/2 lemon, juiced

Heat the olive oil and the wine in a large heavy stock pot with a fitting lid.  Bring to a boil.  Add the mussels , cover and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until the mussels have opened.  Any mussels that do not open discard them.  Add the bread crumbs to the pot and toss lightly.  Drizzle the lemon juice.  Serve in a big bowl with crusty bread to sop up all the juices.  Or serve over any kind of pasta you like with grated parmesan cheese.