Freshly cooked mussels, rich and creamy (but not too heavy) sauce, and aromatic herbs combined in this delicious Creamy Mussel Basil Pasta.
Hello, my friends. Happy Monday. If you are that person who does not feel Mondays can ever be good enough (Except for those which fall on an extended weekend or vacation), I hope you can find something good about it. I certainly hope this Creamy Mussel Basil Pasta helps you feel better.
In my last post, I promised to post a recipe for shellfish pasta, and here we go. Also, I just noticed that in that post I wrote down “selfish” instead of “shellfish”. Isn’t it hilarious? I don’t think that was just a regular misprint. There might be some sense. What did I mean by this?
Did I mean an egoistic representative of the fish family that, for instance, doesn’t like sharing food? Or, perhaps, its fish which cannot live without taking selfies and posting them on their Instagram accounts every day? Self-employed fish? Is it a mythical kind of the aquatic inhabitants like a unicorn? Finally, did I discover invent a new form of species, and will I get a Nobel prize for this?
Which of these versions sound more plausible to you? Or maybe you can come up with a better one! Please join me in this game :)
Also, I was going to share my story of cooking fresh mussels first time ever (We won’t count frozen and canned ones, will we? This is not the same). Honestly, having read some articles, I was a bit concerned about this, but surprisingly I did well. Anyways, I’ll leave this story (and tips on cleaning and preparing mussels) for another post. After all, living in the Atlantic region means having some fresh mussels once in a while.
For now, let’s simply enjoy this Creamy Mussel Basil Pasta. I hope you do like seafood pasta.
And, by the way, have you ever tried selfish?
Notes
havocinthekitchen.com
Ingredients
- about 300-350 gr. dry pasta
- about 1,5-2 pounds of fresh mussels
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2-3 tbsp. light (10% cream)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh parsley and basil
Instructions
- First of all, start with sorting and discarding mussels which are broken or chipped. Note that mussels should be tightly closed. If some of them are open, tap the shell on their hard surface, and if it closes, it's safe to eat it.
- Once sorted out the good mussels, if they look nice and clean (cultivated mussels are normally clean), you don't need to soak them. Otherwise, soak the mussels in cold water for 15-20 minutes. Personally, although the mussels I had were clean, I still soaked them for 5 minutes before cleaning.
- Next, scrub the mussels under cold running water and remove the breads (kind of threads or fibers which are easy to remove by grasping and pulling). Drain the clean mussels.
- Now the mussels are ready to cook. You might choose the different way of cooking (cooking onions and garlic first then adding the mussels to the pan. I opted for this way as I wanted to remove most of hard shells after all, and I didn't want they would be covered in sauce).
- So add about 1 cup of water (The water should just lightly cover the bottom (like 0,5 thick) of the pan. We don't cook the mussels in water - we basically steam it).
- Add the mussels, cover, and cook over medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until they are open. The mussels which don't open, should be discarded as well.
- Remove the mussels and reserve the liquid. Remove most of the hard shells reserving some for decoration.
- In the same pan combine the butter and oil. Cook the onion and garlic 5-7 minutes until soft and fragrant.
- Add the cream and about 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the basil and parsley.
- In the meanwhile, cook the pasta until del dente. I also used some of the reserved water (about 1/2 cup) to infuse the dish even more.
- Add the cooked pasta into the pan, stir, and let stay 2-3 minutes to develop the flavors.
- Serve at once.
- Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
This was amazing! Simple and delicious. Will definitely be making this again.
Self employed fish…haha, love it! But not as much as I love this dish! Pasta, seafood and creamy sauce are made for each other!
Marissa recently posted…Breakfast Quiche
Oh my gahhhhh this looks AMAZING, Ben! I absolutely love mussels, but don’t get to eat them often because Boy isn’t a fan (he used to be, but after some bad mussels at a restaurant he now refuses to eat them). Needless to say I am going to have to make this creamy dreamy pasta just for ME! I mean, no complaining there, because when something looks this good, who really wants to share?!? Gimme gimme! Cheers, buddy!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Spring Pea & Strawberry Salad
I selfishly claim this gorgeous dish, double the basil for me! There is something about mussels and basil together that always gets me whether in tomato sauce or creamy sauce. Dinner plans are made, luckily I know where I can get fresh mussels in landlocked Fort Collins. Not sure if they engaged in any selfie taking prior to being flown over to here. Pinned!
Milena recently posted…Mozzarella & Basil Stuffed Beer Muffins
I love seafood pasta, and mussels are always a key ingredient! As for the misspelling, I just kept thinking I would be selfish too because I wouldn’t want to share this dish!!
Ha ha that’s brilliant “selfish” instead of “shellfish”. That made me laugh! Thanks for that Ben. Living in Scotland we have some excellent shellfish (I was careful how I spelled that ;-) ) in our waters so this is a perfect recipe for here. I love your addition of the fresh parsley and basil. Pinned!
I love the thought of a mussel that can’t live without taking constant selfies :). Hilarious! I love pasta so much but I’ve never had it with mussels. This sounds delicious! Hope you’re having a great week!
Creamy Mussel Basil Pasta is a dinner that will definitely make a great start to my week. Pasta and seafood make such a great combination ….loving this recipe and would love to give it a try
Love mussels! Real treat for sure! Love soaking up the sauce with a hunk of bread when we make them (which is usually outside on the side burner of the bbq). Have to try them next time with pasta. Nice touch with the basil in there!
Kudos to you for making mussels at home, Ben! I’ve made mussels a couple of times over the years, but not all that often. I bet you get some amazing quality mussels up there in Newfoundland, too! If you’ve mastered mussels, then you’ll totally find other shellfish quite easy. Take shrimp for example. They cook in a flash, and they’re so easy to make! Anyways, I love this basil pasta idea. You know I love a good, creamy pasta dish, so the addition of mussels here sounds quite delicious. Oh, and have you heard the saying that you should only order mussels in months with the letter R? I’m not sure how true that is anymore, but it’s still a fun rule to tuck back in your brain. Hope your Monday was a good one, my friend!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Oreo Cupcakes
I love all seafood, and mussels are no exception!! Obviously, I also love all pasta, so this is a win-win for me! I’m pretty clueless when it comes to cooking things like mussels, so I’m glad you’ve done that step for me!