Zuppa di Cozze (aka mussels marinara in most Italian American restaurants), is mussels in a light tomato sauce. It is a dish that I love to make at home because to me it is so much better. But people are often scared to do it on their own, but trust me it is so easy. I like to serve it as a first course with some crusty bread to dip. So delicious!
You can also make this dish as a pasta course, by adding cooked linguini to the mussels! See recipe notes below
Ingredients
Serves 6
½ Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 Garlic Cloves, whole and smashed a little with the side of a big knife
½ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
2 lbs. Prince Edward Island Mussels (cleaned)
¾ Cups Pinot Grigio
16 oz. Whole Plum Tomatoes - Crush by hand in a bowl
½ Cup Clam Juice in Bottle or water
Salt and Pepper to taste
15 Basil Leaves - Chopped
3 tbsp. Chopped Parsley
4 tbsp. Butter (optional but highly recommended)
1 Loaf Crusty Italian Bread, sliced and grilled
Method
Put the olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes (Optional) in a heat safe pot on your grill and heat on a very low flame until the garlic is cooked through. Once the garlic is fork tender, raise the heat to medium. Then add the mussels. Cover and steam the mussels for about 5 minutes (they will begin to open). Add the wine. Let it reduce for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and turn all the ingredients. Next add in the clam juice or put some water into the tomato can and swish it around collecting any tomato remnants. Season with the basil, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Add the butter (optional- but I highly recommend it because it gives the sauce great flavor). Cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with bread.
Recipe Note- If you want to make this as a pasta course simply boil 1 pound of linguini. Reserve some of the pasta water (about ¼ Cup). Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce and add in your pasta water. This will serve 4.