Pasta Mussels Delish

Well as life has it, (and a terrible head cold fighting its way through the house) dinner, as it should be defined, was never made last night. But all is well. After some much needed rest last night, energy has been (somewhat) restored and just in time for cheat day Sunday. And by cheat day, I mean no broiled fish or steamed vegetable, just hard core carbs. I.E. pasta!
The kids ABSOLUTELY love this dish and it is SO easy to make. I originally stumbled upon this on the Rachael Ray website after seeing the segment on her show and have modified it to agree with our family’s taste buds. Pretty common ingredients, easy clean-up; this is great! In order to make this beneficial to you, I’ve included pictures to serve as a guideline; kind of give you a “this is what it should look like at this step” picture. Hope it helps! Now let’s get cooking!

Pasta with Browned Sausage and Mussels
Below is a list of ingredients (with sidenotes if applicable)
Ingredients

Salt and pepper
1 pound spaghetti (I typically use a linguine or fettuccine)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound Italian sausage (we use turkey)
2 fennel bulb, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock (I typically always have vegetable stock on hand, so that is what I use)
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or to taste really. Like spicy? Add more. Not so much, reduce or omit)
1/2cup dry vermouth (really any white wine would work. Chardonay, Sauv…and while at it, pour yourself a glass)
24- 36 mussels, scrubbed and debearded (I purchase a bag mussels from the local Mariano’s for under $5.00. Already cleaned and ALWAYS fresh)

 

First you want to heat the EVOO in your skillet, let it get warm (not so its crackling all over the place) and start crumbling your sausage into the oil. I always take the sausage out of the casing. If you don’t mind the texture, you can leave as is and simply slice. Let the sausage brown and add your chopped fennel and onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

 

Cover your skillet and let cook for about 10 minutes, allowing the vegetable to become tender and flavors to blend.
I usually take this time to begin the (minimal) clean-up. Cutting board in the dishwasher, santoku washed. Done! I even got to spend some time with my little sous chef (Thing 2). He loves the kitchen, this one.  I then take the tomato paste and add to the skillet along with the vermouth and stock in addition to 3/4 to 1 cup of water. Cover and let that start to bubble.

 

Once it starts to bubble you’re going to want to uncover, stir it (basically to break up the tomato paste) and pour in the pasta. This is my favorite part! No pre-cooking of noodles. It cooks in the wonderful blends of flavors that you’ve been cooking for the past 15 minutes. Allow the pasta to cook around 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding water if you find the noodles sticking to the bottom.

Once the noodles have cooked open up that bag of mussels and pour those babies right on top. Cover once more and allow to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. They will open up (and your kitchen will be smelling SO good). Remove from heat, bring to table and serve directly from the skillet. You may choose to add ricotta (adds some creaminess and cools the heat of the red pepper), traditional parmesan, or fresh parsley for garnish.

Regardless of how you choose to garnish, your taste buds are going to thank you (and so will your kids. And DH) You just might enjoy some silence at the dinner table because they can’t get enough, it’s that good.  But don’t take my word, take some time from your chaos, and try for yourself.  I’d love to hear what you think!

Buon Appetite,

Melissa