Spaghetti with mussels, olive oil, garlic and parsley 😍😍 

Spaghetti with mussels are a tasty and fragrant first course of seafood, among the most loved by Italians together with spaghetti with clams. It is a symbolic recipe of our gastronomic tradition, perfect for celebrating the Christmas holidays together with friends and relatives, but not only. Simple and quick to make, it is essential to use high quality raw materials: the mussels must be very fresh, they must be cleaned with great care and finally soaked in water and salt to eliminate any trace of sand.

Once well rinsed, these should be opened over high heat in a pan with a base of oil and garlic; In our pasta with mussels we decided to add fresh datterini that, sautéed quickly, will wrap spaghetti or any other shape of pasta with the sauce released. The final addition of fresh parsley will give great aroma and a lively and bright color to the dish. There are many variations of spaghetti with Neapolitan mussels: you can also enjoy them in white, without cherry tomatoes, or you can enrich the sauce with a pinch of pepper, black olives and anchovy fillets in oil. If you want to make the dish even richer, I advise you to add clams or fresh scampi. An extra finishing touch? Serve your spaghetti with chopped pistachios or grated lemon zest: it will give a pleasant freshness to the dish.

Ingredients

SPAGHETTI 200 gr

MUSSELS 600 gr

CHERRY TOMATOES 150 gr

GARLIC 2 segments

CHOPPED PARSLEY to taste

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL to taste

SALT to taste

CHILI POWDER to taste

Preparation

Clean the mussels thoroughly and let them soak with water and salt for about 30 minutes. After this time, rinse them well. In a large pan, brown a clove of garlic with a little oil; Add the mussels. Cook over high heat, until the shells have opened. Shell the mussels keeping some with the shell for the final decoration. Strain the cooking stock and keep it aside. In the same pan, brown the second clove of garlic with a drizzle of oil; Add the cherry tomatoes, cut in half. Season with salt and cook for 10 minutes. Add the mussels and their cooking liquid. Boil the spaghetti in boiling and lightly salted water, then drain them al dente and pour them into a pan with the sauce. Finish cooking in a pan by adding a ladle of spaghetti cooking water, if necessary. Scented with chopped parsley and a pinch of chili powder. Serve the spaghetti hot.

Preservation

Spaghetti with mussels should be eaten hot and freshly ready. Alternatively, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.