ISO (in search of) pasta recipe for mussels

[medtran49]

We've always steamed/cooked mussels and clams in a wide shallow pan. How much depends on how big.

Note though that the shells can scratch nonstick coating. We either used an old nonstick that we kept around just for shellfish. Not one that was peeling, just an old one that had lost its nonstick qualities, or an aluminum or stainless skillet.

 

[taxlady]

Note though that the shells can scratch nonstick coating.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[dragnlaw]

I have some large pans! but even my 8" sautee pan will hold a kilo. But I usually use my 10 or 12" pans. I especially like that I have glass lids for them and can watch the mussels open. It's great.

and guess what I will get next trip to the grocers!
I'm starting to get fussy - I check the dates carefully and only buy when really really fresh. Too many get tossed otherwise.

Edit to add to med's post... I do use a non-stick occasionally. Really, they have not yet scratched them. All you are going to do is give them a tiny bit of a shake during cooking.

 

[Kathleen]

Yes, but you wrote

Which kind of implies removing beards after you steam them; thus, my statement.

I often do not remove the beards prior to steaming. So yes, I'm aware that I'm supposed to, but I often don't. It's easy to pull them off when eating them. Not the "right way," but it will work.

If steaming for someone who might be put off by the overall look of a mussel, I would remove them prior to steaming.

 

[taxlady]

Yesterday I cooked all five and a bit pounds of mussels. There were four with broken shells and several that were dead. They probably died in my fridge. It got cold enough that the wet dish towels over their bowls froze. In any case, I got a total of 593 grams of mussel meat. I froze two portions in just enough broth to cover them. We had the other portion for supper tonight in a cream sauce with pasta. It was very good. DH enjoyed it, but found the texture of the chopped up mussels a bit squishy.

I just read that again. I cooked them in three batches. The dead ones wouldn't close properly before cooking, so never got cooked. There was one mussel that only opened a little bit, but it was broken, so even though it smelled fine, I chucked it. All the rest of the mussels opened with no problem. Thanks for all the advice, especially about the flat pan. Even though I used my biggest soup pot (it has the biggest bottom), I pretended it was a frying pan, so I only put a shallow layer of mussels.

 

[dragnlaw]

This thread headed me to the fish department at the store yesterday. Haven't decided how I'm going to have them yet.
I have one recipe with a sweet potato and curry, might try that for half and I'm guessing I'll do that Carraba's copycat recipe I saved from medtran.

A yummy weekend coming up!