dear fellow crumbsnatchers,
it's been a long week and even longer 2020. i'm trying to find the little things to celebrate despite being on house arrest since march. today was robbie's work anniversary and i surprised him with a meal we enjoyed on our last day in miami, florida. we don't have te opportunity to travel much together due to work conflicts so when we do, it's extra special to go on a food adventure together. we may not be on the beach right now but at least we brought a little bit of miami to our dinner table tonight.
drunken spicy mussels with chorizo recipe
crumb confession: check the label on your favorite harissa sauce. i've shared this confession before but with a lot of new subscribers, i can't stress enough to check the label. harissa is a spicy and aromatic chile paste that’s a widely used staple in north african and middle eastern cooking. it's usually a blend of smoked hot chili peppers, garlic, olive oil and spices, like cumin, coriander, caraway and mint. tomatoes and rose petals are also common ingredients. packed with flavor, it's become one of my favorite condiments. i didn't know that harissa comes in both mild or spicy varieties. the first time i bought it was to make harissa ketchup to go with molly yeh's pigs in the blanket. i've also added it as a condiment to my scrambled eggs and breakfast tacos. apparently, that was the mild version. not all grocery stores carry harissa so when my supply was getting low, i opted to buy another jar for the pantry the next time i saw it. thinking i bought the same mina's harissa, i generously dolloped the sauce on our merguez goat meatballs a few weeks ago. it was fire. if you don't want to break out in sweats, be sure to purchase the mild harissa sauce.
cuisine: spanish
prep time: 1 hour
cook time: 15 minutes
serves: 2-4
ingredients
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
4 tbs unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. chorizo
1 tbs harissa sauce, mild or spicy
1 tbs ground fennel
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2-3 lbs fresh mussels
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
directions
rinse mussels with cold water and scrub the shells and debeard.
place rinsed mussels in a bowl of cold water and a healthy dose of salt and let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
lift mussels out of water with slotted spoon and place in a colander. rinse with cold water.
in a dutch oven (with lid), melt butter on medium heat. add onions and sauté until soft. add garlic and chorizo until browned. add tomatoes, harissa and ground fennel. turn heat to high.
deglaze the pan with wine and stir. lower the heat to medium and add chicken stock.
when the chicken stock bubbles, add clean mussels and cover with lid. steam until mussels open, about 3-5 minutes.
stir in cream and discard closed mussels. serve immediately.
this recipe makes a great appetizer or meal. i added two pan-seared scallops to make it extra special, but this is a perfect dinner when paired with a garden salad and lots of french bread. our fish market sells key lime pies, so you know we ended our celebration with a slice of pie. from the lyrics of my first cd, big willie style, "party in the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach till the break of dawn, welcome to miami, bienvenidos a miami."
love and crumbs,
christina & gypsie
p.s. did you make this recipe? be sure to drop us a crumb on instagram at @crumbsforgypsie and hashtag it #crumbsforgypsie.