Culinary Inspiration from the Old Country

Believe it or not, I thoroughly enjoyed eating my way across the British Isles and central Europe over the last couple weeks. I had excellent food, including lots of seafood in Ireland. Fresh and delicious, whether prepared simply or with gourmet flair. I consumed a ton of mussels, and I had a hankering to do my own version of steamed mussels in a white wine & garlic sauce. I had made a similar dish a while back but it had been quite some time, and I was on a shellfish kick.

I bought some mussels and little neck clams at the Golden Goose. Washed and scrubbed them (although they were already well-cleaned and the mussels de-bearded; just wanted to ensure that as much grit as possible was gone from the outside) and discarded any broken shells or open shells that didn't close upon touch (meaning they are dead or close to it - at any rate no longer fresh).



I sliced up some shallots in thin strips (I liked them in a similar style in a dish of mussels I had in Baltimore) as well as six cloves of garlic, thinly sliced. Sautéed these in a pan with oil and butter until soft. I also put on a pot of water to boil up a box of Gemelli pasta.



I poured in about 2 cups of dry white wine and added a little more butter. Then I tossed in the clams first, covered those to cook for a few minutes (they take longer from what I've read) and then added the mussels, which only take 3-5 minutes. Here's everything simmering away (I took off the cover for the pic but keep them covered so they'll cook through):



After the shellfish are done - a pan full of opened mussels and little necks, swimming in deliciousness, waiting to be eaten!



I took the shellfish out of the pan and added some diced tomatoes. Seasoned with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. I tossed the gemelli with olive oil, butter and a couple ladles of the sauce to coat. Then I put a scoop of the pasta in a bowl, added a few of the mussels and clams, and poured some of the sauce on top. A dash of parsley and a glass of white wine to accompany it: