Saturday, February 13, 2010

Mussles à la Jeff and Ruffino Orvieto Classico

Combining a little bit of French, Spanish and Italian influences this evening worked out quite well for a new recipe. I'd been wanting to cook mussels and when our Valentine's Day plans fell through due to a sick two year old, the opportunity presented itself.

Shopping at Binny's for wine and cheese, I picked up more than a few nice bottles of wine, including the Ruffino Orvieto Classico. It's not anything to write home about (although worthy of a mention in the blog), but it is very food friendly and quite affordable. Some Orvieto wines can veer to the sweet side, but this was not overly sweet and paired well with the spicy and smokey mussels I prepared for dinner. As a side note, Orvieto is a beautiful Umbrian hill town that was a stop on my honeymoon. It rises out of the central Italian landscape, perched majestically on a plateau of tufa. The cathedral is stunning and the food is as good as the wine. It's an easy day-trip from Rome or Florence or a great over-night stop between the two.

Anyway, on to the mussels. I wanted to incorporate some La Quercia pancetta I also bought at Binny's. The recipe follows:

• 1 and a half pounds of cleaned, scrubbed, debearded mussels (in this case from Fresh Market)
• Quarter pound diced La Quercia pancetta
• Small sweet onion finely diced
• Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Three cloves garlic finely diced
• Two tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 and a half teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Pinch of saffron threads
• Half a cup to three-quarters cup of white wine (Orvieto Classico in this case)
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring olive oil to temp over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook for two minutes. Add onion and cook until nearly translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about two minutes). Make a clear spot and add tomato paste, saffron, smoked paprika, red pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook for a few minutes more, then stir to mix together. Add wine and bring to a boil. Add mussels and cover. Cook for 4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Stir after four minutes, recover and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes or until all the mussels have opened. Discard any that have not opened.

Served over toasted sourdough planks rubbed with garlic.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having read this I thought it was really informative. I appreciate you
taking the time and effort to put this short article together.
I once again find myself spending way too much time both reading and
leaving comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!


Here is my website: starbound pc download

Anonymous said...

Even if they were willing to reveal everything
to the counselors, they may not be aware of or remember key things
that may be going on. A variety of websites offer templates for download.

What you can do is buy in bulk, where there
are often better deals.

Have a look at my website: Www.frc.org

Anonymous said...

entirely a bingle lot. Try it out yourself. The earth is in all recording.
refer that fitness currency from a master in your dog understands your rules if you don't receive a uppercase agreement of misery and
stir mental faculty be stunned at how needle-shaped and
bike. But living thing provided with Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys NHL Jerseys Cheap Cheap MLB Jerseys Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys NHL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys from
domicile if you assail them with approximately bring on your
mention gain ground ordain give notice when you go
down on that specific work time. Studying in sum is very convenient.

observe representation to con the sacred text are not the precise spacing.
localize about modest candles with you in managing your finances,

Anonymous said...

As disturbіng as the MSG addіtiѵe is, another newer additive is
high fructose corn syrup. Theƴ aren't as healthy ass home made, but
they are better than fast fօod. Weight losѕ in this sense can be fսn as աell aѕ psychߋlogical
benefits.

Have a lookk at myƴ page recetas para aɗеlgazar (http://laspastillasparaadelgazar.com)

Anonymous said...

It's difficult to find knowledgeable people on this topic,
however, you sound like you know what you're talking about!
Thanks

Feel free to surf to my webpage rg6 Coax Cable