This mussel soup from Puglia is typical of the southern Italian style of cooking and is a favourite from ” The River Cafe Cook Book”.
Ingredients
- 2.5 kg mussels cleaned and any open, cracked or broken mussels discarded.
- 75 ml olive oil
- 150 ml white wine
- 4 plump garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 6 anchovy fillets
- 3 small dried chillies crumbled
- 2 x 400g tins peeled plum tomatoes drained of most of their juices and chopped
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley chopped
Bruschetta:
- 6 slices pugliese bread cut at an angle
- 1 plump garlic clove peeled and halved
- extra virgin olive oil
Servings:
Instructions
- Heat 60 ml of the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the mussels, white wine and 120 ml water. Cook over a high heat until all the mussels are open, discarding any that remain closed.
- Remove the mussels and boil to reduce the liquid by half. Remove half the mussels from their shells.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan and fry the garlic until lightly brown. Add the anchovies and mash with the garlic into the hot oil until dissolved.
- Add the mussel liquid, the chilli and the tomatoes. Cook gently until the tomatoes have reduced to a medium thick consistency- about 30 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper and more chilli if needed. Finally put in all the mussels and half the parsley.
- Toast the bread on both sides and rub the garlic. SErve the soup in shallow bowls with the bruschetta, the remaining parsley and a generous amount of good extra virgin olive oil.
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