Mussels in a tomato & celery sauce

Posted by petra08 on October 6, 2019 · 4 Comments 

I feel I have been very lucky in my working life having worked with the most amazing people along the way. One of those lucky times is when I got a new job and went to see a client. I had no idea that when I walked out of the meeting I had met a friend for life.

We soon found common ground, besides business, in our love of food.

Over the years we shared many meals and one of my favorites is one that she cooked for me. It was a simple but stunning dish and it is perfect for British seafood week as today is mussels.

I am fairly sure I have amended the recipe just slightly and here is my version.

Mussels in tomato and celery sauce

preparation time 5 minutes

cooking time 15 minutes

serves 2

Ingredients

• 500 gr or 17 oz fresh mussels
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 400 gr or 14 oz passata
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 chilli, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• Salt & pepper to taste
• butter to taste
• oil for cooking

Rinse the mussels in cold water. If they don’t close discard them.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion, celery and garlic, a few minutes until soft. Add the passata and Shaoxing rice wine and let it cook for 10 minutes. Taste with salt and pepper.

When you are happy with the flavor add the mussels to the boiling tomato sauce.

Let the mussels open and cook for a couple of minutes. Add butter and taste the sauce again before serving. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened.

Serve with chunks of bread and enjoy.

This is a hearty dish, absolutely perfect on a chilly evening to warm you up.

Filed under Allotment/Veg, Celery, Chilli, Fish & Seafood, Main course, Mussels, Onion, Recipe, Starter · Tagged with fishisthedish, mussels in tomato sauce, ratemyfish