Description

You guys may have seen last week’s blog post sharing my first attempt at cooking mussels at home as part of Bord Bia‘s #FlexYourMussels campaign… this campaign aims to get people like me cooking mussels at home; those of us who love ordering mussels when dining out but would’ve been a little apprehensive about whipping them up in our own kitchen.

Last week’s mussels were an absolute success with myself (well, my mom always says ‘self-praise is no praise’!) but also with Sean and Cathal so, I headed to my local fish counter with more confidence on this recipe, ready to serve up a dish of deliciousness! This time I went for the Mussels In Tomato And Spinach Sauce recipe from Bord Bia’s fish recipes

INGREDIENTS 

1kg mussels scrubbed and de-bearded

1 tblsp. olive oil

1 medium onion finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1/2 teasp. fennel seed

400g tin chopped tomatoes

200ml water

1 red chilli, deseeded and and finely chopped

Zest 1 lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

100g baby spinach

Small handful of basil leaves finely chopped

METHOD

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over a medium heat until the onion and garlic are soft but not coloured, about 4-5 minutes. Add the fennel seeds, tomatoes, water, chilli and lemon zest and cook for 10 minutes. Season with black pepper.

Add the mussels and spinach into the tomato sauce. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, shaking the saucepan a few times until the mussels have opened. Discard any that have not opened. Taste and season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I enjoyed cooking this meal even more than the last one as I felt a little more relaxed with the overall process of preparing and cooking the mussels, it’s the perfect summer dinner as it’s light while still filling and the final product is very insta-worthy!

If you’re feeling inspired to cook up some mussels at home yourself (which I strongly suggest you do!) Bord Bia’s site has lots of great recipes here , these dishes are a real crowd pleaser and don’t take long to prepare once the mussels are cleaned so they make the perfect summer dinner party offering. Let me know how you get on!

xx

Disclaimer: This post is a sponsored collaboration with Bord Bia.