Simple Mussels

You know how some people always have “a guy” – a handyman guy, a deal on a stereo guy, a financial guy. Well, turns out I got a “fish guy.” A really good fish guy who will deliver you 10 pounds of the freshest most delicious mussels you have ever eaten in your life. My fish guy is really my friend Kris who got a summer job delivering fish to all the poshest restaurants in Vancouver and sometimes there are leftovers. Last Sunday there were leftover mussels and we were the lucky recipients. So we invited a bunch of people over and had a clam mussel bake.

Simple Mussels

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh oregano
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup white wine
Roughly 5 pounds mussels
4 tablespoons butter

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until the onion softens.

Add the wine, herbs and mussels and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Steam until the mussels open, roughly about 8 minutes.

Spoon the mussels into a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Strain the remaining liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add the butter and stir until melted and then a minute or two more.

Drizzle sauce over the mussels. Garnish with some parsley and serve.

De-bearding the mussels

Oh yeah and there were live spot prawns too!! Beheaded and then thrown on the barbeque for a quick minute or two. Peel and eat. Ahhhh!

Cioppino

This Saturday I made a big effort to plan out our meals for the week. I went to the Winter Farmer’s Market in the morning and got some fresh fruits and vegetables, followed by a trip to Save-On for the rest of the groceries. With my running clinic twice a week and C’s evening classes on the other nights, if we want to eat together at all during the week I need to have something on the go before I head out running. On Monday, I put a big pot of chili on the stove before I went for my run. Tonight, I made Cioppino in the crockpot.

Cioppino is a tomato-based fish stew. It was concocted by Italian fishermen in San Francisco in the late 1800′s using whatever they brought back on their boats that day. I have wanted to try cooking cioppino for a while, so when I saw this recipe on yumsugar a couple of weeks ago, I decided to finally give it a go. The use of the crockpot in this recipe made it perfect for my make-ahead needs during the week. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I love seafood, so I really liked this and even C, who isn’t a big tomato, seafood, or hot liquid fan, finished all of his (although he did admit that I would probably be eating all the leftovers).

Cioppino

Adapted from yumsugar
Yield: 8 Servings

2 large onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 large can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can clam nectar
1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine (I used cooking wine)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 pound firm-textured white fish, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 can baby clams with juice, undrained
1 can crabmeat, drained
Parsley, chopped

Mix all ingredients except fish, shrimp, clams, crabmeat and parsley in the crockpot.

Cover. Cook on High for 3 to 4 hours.

Stir in fish, shrimp, clams and crabmeat. Reduce heat to Low. Cover; cook for 30 to 45 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with fork. Remove bay leaf. Stir in parsley.

Serve with thick crusty bread. (I used Terra Breads Organic Multigrain)

Nutritional Information per serving: Calories 210 (Calories from Fat 35); Total Fat 3 1/2g (Saturated Fat 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 120mg; Sodium 570mg; Total Carbohydrate 14g (Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 7g); Protein 28g

(4 P)