Pasta with mussels (Tubettini con le cozze)
4-6
MEDIUM
PREP TIME
20 MINS
COOK TIME
20 MINS
TOTAL TIME
40 MINS
RECIPE PROVIDED BY
Nonna Elena
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INGREDIENTS
- 500g mussels
- 500g tubettini pasta (little tubes)
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour (to thicken the sauce) optional
- A little dried, crushed chili pepper
- 1 glass of dry white wine –Terre Di San Vito is best for this
- Olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
- A handful of chopped parsley
INTRODUCTION
Nonna Elena’s recipe has been handed down to every member of our family and you would think they have all put their own twist on it – wrong! Every one of my aunts and uncles cook it the same way and it is de-lic-ious! Our uncle Mario has tan incredible restaurant in Bari town: Ai due Ghiottoni and his restaurant is a ‘must go to’. Nonna Elena gave the chef her recipe and they have used it for the past 55 years!
This is one of my brother’s favourite dishes – definitely in his top 5! As soon as he was seated in my uncle’s restaurant (an incredible treat for the kids from London!) the words would trickle out of his salivating mouth ‘tubettini con le cozze per favore’!
This is one of Puglia’s most famous and traditional seafood dishes.
METHOD
Preparing the dish
- Wash the mussels well under running
water and pull out the beards (the stringy bits hanging out of the shell). - When you have cleaned them all, leave them in a bowl of cold water.
- Bring a pan of water (for the pasta) to the boil and add about a tablespoon of salt.
- When boiling, add the pasta tubes.
Preparing the mussles
- In a large pan, on a medium heat, add about 2 tablespoons of Terre Di San Vito’s extra virgin olive oil and the chopped garlic.
- After a couple of minutes, once the garlic is slightly golden (do not let it burn)add the cherry tomatoes.
- Once the garlic and tomatoes have softened (about 4-5 minutes)add the white wine and bring to a boil so the alcohol evaporates.
- Add the mussels.
- Cover the pan with a lid and leave it for a couple of minutes so the mussels have time to open.
- Once opened, remove from the shells and leave in the sauce
- Add a tablespoon of flour to the sauce and mix well - this will thicken the sauce and help it coat the pasta!
- Remove from heat (you do not want to overcook the mussles)
- Taste and season with salt and black pepper
Preparing the pasta
- By now, the pasta should be ready – take one out and taste it – it should be ‘al dente’ which means that it has a bit of a bite to it – not mushy!
- Strain the pasta, but keep a little of the liquid back in case you need to loosen the sauce.
- Add the pasta to the pan with the mussels.
- Add the chopped parsley.
- Mix well on a low heat for a minute so that you combine all the flavours and serve.
Serving the dish
- Place into a large serving dish.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Serve with a little drizzle of our Terre Di San Vito’s extra virgin olive oil.
I am sure you already have one of our beautiful terracotta jars on your dinner table!
Buon appetito!
Top tips:
- This dish can also be served in a thick tomato sauce – a controversial talking point in our family – some love it red while some prefer it in the white sauce – you decide!
Always serve this with a bottle of our fabulous Terre Di San Vito rose wine Mosi or our white wine Apeneste.
