Aromatic Mussels from ‘One-Pot Paleo’
Every week we’re serving up recipes from cookbooks designed with your health in mind. Below, we’ve chosen an excerpt from One-Pot Paleo: Simple to Make, Delicious to Eat and Gluten-free to Boot by Jenny Castaneda (Page Street Publishing), which focuses on creative paleo dishes that are influenced by Asian and American flavors. Try making the recipes at home and let us know what you think!
Photograph by Jenny Castaneda
Aromatic Mussels
One of the very first recipes I mastered when I was young was aromatic mussels. Once the mussels are steamed open, I add a dollop of herbed garlic butter on each one and cook them by batch in our tiny toaster oven. I’m in garlic heaven once the butter starts to melt because it smells oh so good! Of course, I always have to sneak a few bites, just to make sure everything tastes right. That’s my excuse to justify having more than my fair share! I’m happy to share this easy oldie-but-goodie made especially for garlic lovers.
2 pound (900 g) fresh black mussels
1-inch (2.5 cm) ginger, sliced
½ cup (120 ml) water
1 pound (450 g) baby red potatoes, quartered
1 pound (450 g) frozen pearl onions, thawed and drained
½ pound (225 g) grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons (30 ml) ghee, melted
Sea salt
5 tablespoons (75 g) salted butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons (10 g) parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
In a cast-iron pan or skillet over medium-high heat, add the mussels, ginger and water. Cover and let them steam for 7 minutes. Once the mussels are open, remove the top half of each shell. Save the broth and freeze it to use later in other recipes. Set the mussels aside in a bowl.
Wipe down the pan and add the potatoes, pearl onions and grape tomatoes. Add ghee and season with sea salt. Toss to combine. Roast the vegetables uncovered in the oven for 45 minutes, stirring halfway.
Combine the softened butter, garlic and parsley in a small bowl. Top each mussel shell with the garlic butter mixture. Once the vegetables are cooked, remove the pan from the oven and carefully arrange the mussels on top. Turn the broiler on low and return the pan to the oven to broil for 8 minutes.
Top with more fresh parsley before serving.
More seafood recipes to try before the end of summer:
Baja Ceviche from ‘Tex-Mex From Scratch’
