Recipe information
Yield
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
2 1/4 lbs mussels, cleaned
1/2 cup dry white wine
Provençale Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil, plus extra to garnish
bouquet garni
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 lb. ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Preparation
Step 1
To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, celery, garlic, basil and bouquet garni, and cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until softened but not browned.
Step 2
Mix in the tomato paste and tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar, and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Put the mussels in a casserole dish with the wine, over high heat, and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes only, until the mussels have opened, stirring frequently to ensure they are evenly cooked.
Step 4
Pour off the cooking liquid, discard any mussels that have not opened, and return the opened mussels, in their shells, to the casserole dish.
Step 5
Pour the hot tomato sauce over the mussels and heat through. Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve at once.
The Belgo Cookbook, by Denis Blais and André Plisnier
Clarkson Potter
