Garlic Butter Mussel Pasta

Directions

• First of all, start with sorting and discarding mussels that 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.
• If the mussels 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 beards (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.
• Add about 1/2 cup of wine and some water (The liquid should just lightly cover the bottom (about 0,5 cm thick) of the pan. We don’t cook the mussels in liquid – we basically steam them).
• Add the mussels in one – maximum two layers, cover, and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until they are open. The mussels which don’t open should be discarded as well. Remove the mussels from the pan and let slightly cool then remove most of the hard shells reserving few whole mussels for decoration. Reserve al the juices as well.
• In a separate n a pan, combine olive oil and butter over medium heat and cook the garlic and chili flakes, 5 minutes.
• Add the cleaned mussels with juice, thyme, lemon, and salt. Cook 2-3 minutes. Try and season with some salt if necessary.
• In the meantime, cook the pasta as directed on package in salted water, until al dente. Drain reserving some (up to a cup) water.
• Combined with the drained pasta and mix, adding some reserved water, if necessary, to thin out the sauce.
  Let stand for a minute and serve. Enjoy!