Spaghetti with Mussels in White Wine Sauce
Ingredients for 4 servings
- 10 oz bronze-cut spaghetti (280 g)
- 2.2 lb fresh mussels (1 kg)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
- 1 garlic clove
- Scant 1/2 cup dry white wine, or about 7 Tbsp (100 ml)
- 1 fresh chili pepper
- Coarse salt, for the pasta water
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Zest of an unwaxed lemon, to taste
Instructions
- Clean the mussels and discard any that are open or damaged.
- In a skillet, flavor the olive oil with the minced garlic and chili pepper. Add the mussels to the skillet and cook over high heat.
- Once the mussels are in the skillet, pour in the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
- Strain the mussel cooking liquid through a very fine-mesh sieve and remove the mussel meat from the shells.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti.
- Pour the mussel cooking liquid into the skillet and reduce it by half.
- When the pasta has 5 minutes of cooking time left, drain the spaghetti and finish cooking it in the skillet with the reduced liquid.
- Add the mussels, mix well to make the dish creamy, and emulsify with a little extra-virgin olive oil.
- Plate and finish with a grating of lemon zest.
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