I am a big soup and seafood lover. And when you put those two things together, you get a magnificent dish like these spicy mussels with chorizo. This is a one-pot recipe, which is not only easy to prepare but also delicious. I love one-pot recipes for two reasons: one, there is not much to clean and two, the flavours from all the ingredients combine into something fabulous.
I rarely get a chance to prepare seafood at home. But when I get a chance, I get super excited. Like a kid with his sweets. Mussels are my sweets. Hehehe. Yummy! Small, cute and delicious. Mussels are one of the best and most affordable seafood goodies. You can find them almost everywhere and they are always a great choice.
However, mussels need to be cleaned. Usually, they are quite clean, but not perfect. Better to check twice. Place the mussels in a colander under cold running water. Check them one by one, scrub them well with a stiff brush, in order to remove any barnacles and remove the beard if there is any. A beard is a bunch of thin brown string peeking out of the shell. Simply pull it using your fingers.
Another important thing is to discard all the dead mussels. Those are the ones which are open or have a cracked shell. Mussels are still alive when you buy them, consequently, sometimes some are open, but when you gently tap them on the counter, some of them will close back in a couple of minutes. Those who close back, are the keepers.
To sum up; check the mussels, keep the tightly closed ones and discard the opened or cracked ones.
The second highlight of this pot is white wine. I used a dry one (Pinot Grigio). About 500 ml was just perfect. And what to do with the rest? The remaining wine goes on the table to make a toast to this amazing spicy mussels and chorizo dish.
Right, the third highlight is chorizo. I love this Spanish sausage. It is spicy and full of flavour; perfect for a one-pot dish.
Ingredients for 2-4 portions of spicy mussels with chorizo:
- 1 kg mussels (with shells)
- 100 g butter
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 500 ml white wine (dry)
- 2 chorizo sausages
- 400 g diced tomato (or tomato sauce with tomato cubes from a can)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
- salt and pepper
- thyme to sprinkle at the end (optional)
- baguette (optional)
So once again, check carefully, one by one, if all the mussels are tightly closed, debearded and clean. Remember, BEFORE cooking, discard the open mussels and AFTER cooking, discard the ones that remained closed.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter, add the chopped onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes until glossy. Then add the chopped garlic and sauté for another minute. But don’t let the garlic burn.
Now add the chorizo (sliced in rounds) and let it release some flavour and become a little crispy. Pour the wine over the sausage and bring to boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat, add the tomatoes (or the sauce), smoked paprika, salt and pepper and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Furthermore, it is time to add the mussels. After you put the mussels in the wine-tomato sauce, cover the pan and cook for 8 minutes. Try not to remove the lid from the pan. If you are tempted to stir, you can simply shake the pan once or twice.
The mussels should be open at this point. Remove the lid and check them. Discard any mussel that remained closed.
Serve these delicious spicy mussels with chorizo immediately, when still steamy and hot. This one-pot is a great idea to celebrate a special day with your family and friends. It can also be a wonderful way to a romantic evening. I like to serve them directly in a pan, but you can present them in a big serving bowl as well. The best thing to serve next to the spicy mussels with chorizo is some crispy bread and a glass of wine. Don’t forget some napkins!
Enjoy!
