Spicy Mussels in White Wine

You often hear that you should eat “light” during the warmer months. And in truth, I totally agree with that. But I don’t necessarily define “light” as in portion size—I equate it to eating by the season. For example, you won’t catch you me whipping out my lovely dutch oven in the middle of July to make stews. Instead, you’ll find me preparing weekday meals that are easy and will not leave you with the feeling of needing to find the nearest cave to hibernate for the next 4 months.

The following Mussels dish is the perfect example of such an ideal summer dinner. Quick, not heavy on the tummy, and most importantly—NOT light on flavor. It’s also quite fabulous since we were able to use the Early Girl Tomatoes and Flat Leaf Parsley that we grew–SCORE! Pair it with a nice loaf of warm, crunchy sourdough bread to sop up the great broth and you’re in for a treat. And heck, a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio won’t hurt either!

So with that Friends—Here’s to Eating “Light” on the TUMMY but not on the YUMMY! 🙂

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Spicy Mussels in White Wine
From Bon Appetit

1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Onion, thinly sliced
4 Large Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Teaspoons Fennel Seeds
1 Teaspoon Dried Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Dry White Wine (can substitute with Clam Juice or Vegetable Stock)
2 1/4-inch-thick Lemon Slices
1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley or Sweet Basil
2 1/2 Pounds Fresh Mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1/2 Cup Chopped Seeded Tomatoes

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper and salt; sauté until onion is light brown, about 4 minutes. Add wine, lemon slices and 1/4 cup parsley; bring to boil. Add mussels. Cover pot and cook until mussel shells open, stirring once to rearrange mussels, about 6 minutes; discard any mussels that do not open. Using slotted spoon, transfer mussels to large shallow bowl. Boil broth in pot until reduced to 1 cup, about 3 minutes; season to taste with pepper. Pour broth over mussels. Sprinkle tomatoes and remaining parsley over.