‘Put in a pan over the fire a little oil, parsley, onion and a point of garlic, everything well chopped, then moisten with half a glass of white wine, reduced by half, and a little water from the mussels, opened in the usual way, let them boil a little and add the mussels, well washed and drained, season with ground pepper, give it a boil and serve with slices of bread underneath.’ (Francesco Leonardi)
Serves 6
1.8 kg (4 lb) mussels
1 Italian ciabatta or French loaf
100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
200 ml (7 fl oz) dry white wine
black pepper
Scrub the mussels under cold water. Discard any mussel that remains open after you tap it on a hard surface. Tug off the beards, knock off any barnacles and rinse in several changes of water.
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F) mark 6.
Cut the bread into fairly thick slices and lay the slices on a baking tray.
Pour the oil into a large saucepan in which you will be able to cook the mussels later. I prefer to use a wide sauté pan in which the mussels can spread out and cook more quickly. If your pan is not large enough use 2 pans, dividing the ingredients in half, but increasing the amount of oil by 1 tablespoon, and of the wine by 2 tablespoons.
Using a pastry brush, moisten the bread slices with a little of the oil from the pan. Put the baking tray in the oven and bake for 6–8 minutes. Turn off the oven, but leave the bread in it to keep warm.
Chop the parsley, onion and garlic together and add to the pan with the oil. Turn the heat on and sauté for 1 minute. Add the wine and the pepper and cook briskly for a couple of minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Transfer the mussels to the pan. Put a lid tightly on the pan and cook until all the mussels are open, which will take 4–5 minutes. Shake the pan often. Discard any unopened mussels.
As soon as the mussels are open, turn the heat off. If you are using an earthenware pan, bring it to the table, otherwise transfer the mussels and all the juices to a heated terrine, or ladle the mussels directly into individual soup bowls. The toasted bread must be placed in the soup bowls so that the mussels are ladled over it. Serve at once.
Mussels cannot be reheated. You can scrub and clean them and leave them in a covered bowl up to a few hours in advance. The bread can be toasted up to 2 days in advance, wrapped in foil and refrigerated. Remove from the fridge at least 2 hours before serving.