Easy Steamed Mussels

So I've been seeing these beautiful photos of a bowl full of mussels that have been steamed to perfection and are sitting atop what looks like a lovely broth and thinking...man, I'd love to try that!  But in restaurants, it's usually just a bit too pricey for something I'm not sure I'll like, so I've always put off actually trying it.  Well, I finally decided to throw caution to the wind and just get it over with...but at home, where you know, I can fix myself a pb&j if it's really that awful.  As it turns out, not only was it delicious, but it was easy, too!  The whole dish was cooked in one big pot...which is a big plus for me!

I tried to find fresh mussels, but I guess it just wasn't in the cards for me...so I had to settle for frozen ones.  Which, as it turns out, saved me even more time because they were already cleaned.  For less than $2 a pound, I grabbed two pounds and a bottle of white wine...the rest was already in my pantry!

First things first, mince four or so cloves of garlic and about a quarter of a sweet onion.  In a stock pot/dutch oven, melt two tablespoons of butter.  Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic for about 30 seconds.  Add the zest of one lemon and stir for another 30 or so seconds.  Add two cups of wine and some fresh ground black pepper.  Bring to just a boil and add the mussels.  Cover and let steam.  Since mine were frozen, it took about 10 minutes for them to thaw and open...discard any that don't open.  I poured the whole pot into a big serving bowl and served them family style with grilled, garlic-rubbed bread slices.  My husband ate his with a little shake of Tabasco on top but I ate mine as-is.  Just sop up that tasty broth in the grilled bread and put the mussel meat on top...makes for one tasty bite!

Ingredients:

2 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded

1 lemon, both zest and wedged

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 c. parsley, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 yellow onion, minced

2 cups white wine

1 loaf of crusty bread

extra garlic for rubbing on the bread

optional: Tabasco for serving; parsley for garnish

1. Melt butter in pot.  Add onion and garlic, saute for 30 seconds.  Add lemon zest, stir and saute for additional 30 seconds.

2.  Add white wine and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil.

3.  Add mussels and steam until most have opened.  Discard unopened shells.

4.  Add chopped parsley and stir (optional).  Serve with grilled bread.