A great dish for seafood lovers is undoubtedly mussel soup. It’s very simple to make and if you’re on a diet, seafood is an excellent choice. 2.2 lb of mussels, for example — roughly two serving plates — are a healthy source of nutrition and are very filling while being low in calories.
Today I suggest a mussel soup with tomato and chili pepper, just like we make it in Naples. It’s a classic for Maundy Thursday. In fact it’s eaten at dinner before going out for the struscio — the evening stroll made to visit the Sepulchers in the churches.
This recipe is even simpler than the traditional one, which includes octopus or sea snails. I make it very spicy, but if you don’t like heat you can of course omit the chili. Let’s get started.
More tasty light fish recipes are here:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 2 Servings
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Easter
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb mussels
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 14 oz tomato pulp (peeled tomatoes also work)
- 1 1/3 tbsp dry white wine
- 1 chili pepper
- 1 bunch chopped parsley
- to taste salt and pepper (add salt only if necessary, at the end of cooking!)
- 9.2 oz ciabatta bread (optional)
- Points per serving (mussels only) = 4 WW points
- Points per serving (mussels and bread) = 12 WW points
Steps
The mussels in these photos are very small: this time I found them like this but the meat inside was large and tasty. These are farmed mussels, so they are also much easier to clean. Wild mussels will require more time and care.
Cleaning the mussels is important: they must be cleaned very well. I’m obsessed with cleaning seafood, so I leave this job to the Dutchman who is very particular!
First, soak the mussels in cold water and leave them like that until you start preparing them.
Tap the mussels one by one on the edge of the sink, especially those that are slightly open: if after a few minutes the mussel doesn’t close then it’s better to discard it.
Scrape impurities off the shell with a knife and remove the hairy fibers, the so-called beard, if present.
Rinse them again and drain.
Open the mussels by boiling them in a very large covered pot without adding water.
When they are all open, lift them out with a slotted spoon and strain the cooking liquid: if you see a lot of sand, use cheesecloth to filter out impurities.
Open about a quarter of the mussels and remove the mollusk meat. For the rest, remove only the shell half to which the mollusk is not attached, obtaining many half shells.
Keep 5–6 whole shells to use at the table to “pick up” the mussels from the plate.
In a very large pan put the garlic and the chopped chili together with the oil. Sauté, then add the tomato and part of the chopped parsley.
Stir, cover and cook for about ten minutes. Pour in the wine and cook over high heat for a few minutes to let it evaporate. Then add the mussel cooking liquid.
Cover and simmer over low heat to reduce and thicken the sauce.
Add the mussels to the sauce and stir well.
Let them infuse for another 5 minutes and only at this point taste and, if really necessary, add a little salt. If you like, you can also add some pepper.
While the mussel soup is cooking, prepare the toasted bread.
Slice the ciabatta into thick slices and lightly toast them to obtain croutons to dip into the mussel sauce.
As soon as the bread is ready, add the remaining parsley over the mussel soup and serve everything at the table.
Our spicy mussel soup is ready. What a fantastic aroma and flavor.
You can accompany everything with a fresh green salad dressed with lemon to make a complete meal. So: shall we make it?
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can open the mussels the day before and keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you add them to the sauce. They can probably also be frozen, but honestly I’ve never tried.
