Stuffed Mussels

Name: Stuffed Mussels
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Mussels already cleaned 1.1 lbs; Bread crumb 7 oz; Cheese Grated Rodez cheese 1 oz; Water for soaking 3 cups; Garlic 1 clove; Eggs medium 1; Parsley to chop to taste; Black pepper to taste; Fine salt to taste; Tomato purée 3 ¼ cups; Garlic 1 clove; Extra virgin olive oil to taste

336

Calories per serving

Energy Kcal 336
Carbohydrates g 40
of which sugars g 6
Protein g 17.9
Fats g 11.6
of which saturated fat g 3.03
Fiber g 3.9
Cholesterol mg 134
Sodium mg 878

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Serving: 4 persone
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

The recipes from our bloggers, guests in the GialloZafferano kitchen, continue: today it's Nunzia Bellomo's turn, from the blog Miele di Lavanda, who presents a specialty from her homeland, Puglia! Nunzia, together with Sonia, will take us to discover a tasty second course based on stuffed mussels, with a delicious filling, and cooked in sauce. Stuffed mussels are a really good way to cook these shellfish, the main ingredient of many other Apulian recipes, including fried ones; the filling is made with soaked bread crumbs, chopped parsley, pecorino cheese, and eggs and is used to stuff the mussels opened raw. The peculiarity is that the mussels, once stuffed, are closed, with a gesture that only Apulian housewives know and which Nunzia will illustrate to us, with a thread of cotton to prevent the filling from spilling out during cooking in the tomato sauce! Once at the table, help yourself with small scissors or a knife: you'll taste how delicious these stuffed mussels are!

INGREDIENTS

336

Calories per serving

Mussels 1.1 lbs (500 g) - already cleaned

Bread 7 oz (200 g) - crumb

Cheese 1 oz (30 g) - Grated Rodez cheese

Water 3 cups (700 ml) - for soaking

Garlic 1 clove

Eggs 1 - medium

Parsley to taste - to chop

Black pepper to taste

Fine salt to taste

for the sauce: Tomato purée 3 ¼ cups (750 ml); Garlic 1 clove; Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Stuffed Mussels

To prepare the stuffed mussels, start by soaking the bread in water: place the crumbs of bread without the crust (or place the bread with the crust that you will remove later) in a bowl with about 2 cups of water. Leave the crumbs in the water until they are soft 2. Meanwhile, chop the parsley and garlic for later. Squeeze the crumbs well, placing them in a colander and pressing them with the back of a spoon 3.

Add the squeezed crumbs, chopped parsley, and minced garlic (4-5), the grated cheese (alternatively, you can use Pecorino Romano) 6,

then the salt, pepper, and the egg 7. Knead the ingredients with your hands or with a fork 8 to obtain a firm and homogeneous mixture that you will set aside 9.

Now you need to open the raw mussels, which you have already scraped of impurities (click here to see how to clean mussels): slightly squeeze the shell of the shellfish with your fingers so that the valves open slightly; then, starting from the side of the mussel that has a protrusion, insert the tip of a small knife pointing downward, to cut the muscle 10. At this point, turn around the shellfish with the knife 11, making sure to always keep the blade pointing downward, and open the mussel 12 keeping the flesh only on one side.

Once all the mussels are open, take small quantities of the mixture and fill each mussel until you finish them (13-14). Once filled, take each mussel again and close it with cotton thread, removing any excess mixture that spills out. Take a sewing cotton thread and wrap it several times around the mussel, tightening 15.

Once secured, pass the thread through the mussel and pull down to secure the closure (16-17). Remember to remove all excess mixture before cooking the mussels so as not to dirty the sauce 18.

In a tall and narrow pot, which allows the mussels to be completely immersed in the sauce, we put a clove of garlic and extra virgin olive oil 19; sauté the oil and add the tomato puree 20. As soon as the sauce starts to boil, add the mussels one by one gently and let them cook, covered, on low heat for about 15/20 minutes 21. The stuffed mussels will be ready to be enjoyed: take them out of the sauce and serve them at the table! To cut the cotton, use a knife or small scissors; you can use the sauce to dress pasta!

Storage

Stuffed mussels can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for about 2 days.
Freezing is not recommended.

Advice

As my father taught me, the secret to mouth-watering mussels is in their water: when you open them, instead of discarding it, collect it in a small bowl and soak the bread in it (the best is the one from Puglia, from Altamura, perfect for absorbing delicious sauces!), you'll feel the wonder! From a technical point of view, it changes little: the mussels will release about 7 oz of liquid, to which you will need to add about 10 oz of water.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.