Instructions

Preparing the Mussels:

• Before you start cooking your dish I'd suggest placing the mussels in a bowl with ice water and let them soak for about 20 minutes, before scrubbing them. This will let the sand from the mussels fall to the bottom of the bowl.

• Any of your live mussels that happen to be open and don't close to the touch, should be discarded.

• Right before cooking the mussels, remove them from the water, scrub with a brush and remove any beards.

Making the Spicy Tomato Sauce:

• In a deep pan or a dutch oven, saute chopped onions with olive oil, minced garlic, chili paper flakes, and fresh thyme, for about 5 minutes.

• Add Pomi Chopped Tomatoes

• Add a teaspoon of salt and sugar and a little bit of freshly grounded pepper. Cover the pot and let cook for 20- 25 minutes.

Cooking Pasta

• Cook your pasta according to instructions. *(see notes below on how to salt your pasta water).

• Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the rest once the pasta is cooked.

Cooking the Mussels:

• In a dutch oven or heavy-duty pot with a cover, combine white wine, chopped onions, crushed garlic and bring it to boil.

• Add mussels and cover it up. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until all the mussels have opened.

• After the first 2 minutes remove the mussels that opened up and place them in a bowl; cover the pot and let the mussels to cook for couple more minutes. Any unopened mussels should be discarded.

• Once all the mussels are in a bowl, let them cool off slightly. Once they're cool enough to handle, remove about 2/3 of the mussels from the shells and leave the rest in the shells.

Assembling the Pasta with Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce

• Check tomato sauce for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed;

• Add the mussels which were removed from shells to the spicy tomato sauce, and gently fold them in.

• Add pasta to the pot or bowl, cover with sauce and gently mix together; if the sauce is too thick then add a little bit of your pasta water;

• Transfer the pasta dish to a serving plate or pan (I like using my cast-iron skillet for the rustic effect).

• Add your in-shell mussels on top and sprinkle with some chopped parsley for an outstanding looking dish, and serve.