Weekend Cooking...Mussels Marinara

Last week lobster, this week mussels. I may be on a seafood craze!

A shame these is no scratch and sniff...

Actually, while I love mussels and have often ordered them in restaurants, for some reason I never cooked them before. But during a quick trip to the supermarket I saw a display in the seafood department, filled with crushed ice and net bags filled with mussels, $4.99 for 2 lbs. Very nice, very clean looking mussels from Prince Edwards Island, that have been grown on ropes and claimed to be free of any grit or sand.

Ok, now I remember while I never cooked mussels before...the whole "debearding" thing. But these mussels were beardless and, as advertised, free of any sand. A little rinse off and we were ready to cook. In 10 minutes, dinner was on the table.
Fast, easy, delicious.

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoon olive oil
* 4 clove garlic, minced
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 TBS. fresh basil, chopped
* 1-2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
* 3/4 cup white wine
* 2 pound mussels, cleaned 
* 16 ounces linguine pasta
* 1 lemon - cut into wedges, half saved for garnish

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and saute garlic until transparent. 

2. Add tomatoes, oregano, and red pepper flakes to skillet; reduce heat to low to simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve.
4. Add wine and mussels to skillet; cover and increase heat to high for 3 to 5 minutes or until mussel are open. Discard any that do not open.  Top with basil and toss.
5. Place mussels over hot pasta, and boil down remaining sauce in pan for a minutes, reducing slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste,  then pour over mussels and linguine. Sprinkle with parsley and squeeze lemon wedge over all. Garnish with remaining lemon and serve.

And some crusty bread to soak up all that tasty sauce.

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---