Get ready to spice up your seafood game with our Mussels Fra Diavolo! This dish is all about those juicy mussels in a zesty tomato sauce with a kick. It's like a flavor explosion with garlic, calabrian chili paste, and delicious San Marzano tomatoes. Share it as an appetizer with some friends, or eat it as a meal all to yourself - nobody is judging!
Don’t be afraid if you have never cooked mussels in your own home before. It seems a bit intimidating at first, but trust me, it’s so easy! After you try this flavourful Italian classic with a kick, you’ll be a pro!
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Why you'll love these mussels
- It only has 355 calories per serving and fits into my weight-loss or weight maintenance meal plans.
- Mussels are highly nutritious, containing plenty of protein and micronutrients we need to stay healthy.
- This meal feels so decadent and fancy, but is actually super simple and easy to make.
- It only takes about half an hour to come together and still packs a lot of flavor.
- You get to open a bottle of wine to make this recipe, which means you have an excuse to drink the rest of it. Why not? It’s already open 😉
- You can share this as an appetizer and really impress all your friends or eat it all to yourself as the main event if you like.
- This is a great meal for both summer and winter.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- San Marzano Tomatoes or passata (pureed tomatoes)
- Tomato paste
- Calabrian chili paste or bomba
- Red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- Shallot
- Dry white wine, like a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- Live mussels, blue mussels or preferably PEI mussels
For serving:
- ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- Garlic bread
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools you'll need
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Medium saucepan
- Dutch oven
What makes this dish healthy?
- Mussels, like most seafood, are so good for you! They are an amazing source of micronutrients, like zinc, iron, omega-3 fatty acids.
- This dish is low in calories and high in protein.
- Diavolo sauce is a low calorie and low fat choice.
A little bit about Mussels
There is so much to learn about mussels that I nerded out and wrote an entire article about them. So if you are a food nerd like me, and want to know everything there is to know then give it a read. If not, here are just a few of the highlights:
- Mussels are a class of mollusks called bivalves, which are characterized by two-part hinged shells. Clams, oysters, scallops and quahogs are also included in this category that are commonly found in various cuisines throughout the world.
- There are many types of mussels, but Blue Mussels are most commonly consumed.
- Mussels are considered a sustainable seafood choice because they are filter feeders and have minimal environmental impact.
A little bit about cooking Mussels
Before we get started it’s important to know a few things about mussels. For the everyday person, this is probably not something you are cooking at home regularly. For me, it was always something I loved ordering at restaurants on my trips to the east coast because it was just not something I cooked regularly. But there’s no reason to be intimidated and mussels are truly an extremely easy dish to cook at home!
Tips for cooking mussels
- Selecting mussels. The cooking process starts at the grocery store, fishmonger or market where you select the mussels. Choose fresh live mussels and avoid open or broken shells. If you find some broken mussles in your batch, then discard them before cooking. If you find an open mussel you can test to see if it is alive by trying to close it. If it remains open, it is not alive and you should discard it.
- Cleaning mussels. There is a little bit of prep work before you start cooking when it comes to mussels. Rinse the mussels under running cold water, as sometimes they can still have some sand or grit on them from the ocean. Scrub the shells with a scrub brush to remove any of the debris.
- Debearding mussels. The beard is a sort of filament the mussels create to attach to rocks. It is very tough, hard and unpleasant to eat so you want to remove them before you cook the mussels. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to do. The beard is located at the hinge of the mussel. Simply take a kitchen towel or paper towel and use it to grab onto the beard and gently pull on it until it comes off the shell.
- Storing live mussels. Live mussels should be cooked as soon as possible after you purchase them, or within 24 hours at the latest. If you do need to store them for a short period of time simply put them in a bowl, cover them with a damp cloth and put them in the fridge. The biggest mistake people make with mussels is that they put them in fresh water or put them on ice, which melts into fresh water. Mussels cannot breathe in fresh water, so they will quickly die and become inedible. Eating dead seafood can make you sick, so be careful with how you store live mussels.
Instructions
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Make the Diavolo sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 6 of the whole garlic cloves and cook them until they are caramelized and golden brown in color. This should take about 7-8 minutes. Gently mash the garlic in the pot with a fork or with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste to the sauce and stir until it turns a deep red color, or about 3 minutes. Add the calabrian chili paste, red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds. Then add the pureed San Marzano tomatoes. Stir everything together. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat down to low and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Make the mussels. Wait until the diavolo sauce is ready to start on the mussels because they will only take a few minutes. If you are serving these mussels with garlic bread this is also the time to put your garlic bread in the oven. In a dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the thinly sliced garlic and shallots and cook until the shallots are translucent and starting to caramelize, about 2 -3 minutes. Add the white wine and boil until the liquid reduces by about half. This will burn off all the alcohol and leave the sweet flavors of the wine behind. Now add the spicy tomato sauce and stir together. Add the mussels into the pot and cover it with a lid. Cook the mussels until they are open, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the mussels and sauce into a large serving bowl and top with freshly cut parsley and garlic bread. Serve immediately and enjoy!
TOP TIP: You can make diavolo sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If you make it in a larger batch you can also use the sauce in other recipes for a quick weeknight meal, like shrimp fra diavolo, and rigatoni diavolo. You could even try using it as a base for a spicy pizza.
FAQ
This depends on if you are serving the mussels as the main event or if they are a small portion of a larger meal. A general rule of thumb is about 1 pound of mussels per person. If you are serving the mussels as an appetizer alongside other dishes you could get away with less than 1 pound per person and if you are serving the mussels as the main meal bump it up to 1.5 pounds per person.
Although you can eat mussels all year round, they are best in the fall and winter when water temperatures are at their coldest. This is because the mussels bulk up for the winter months to protect themselves against the cold water, providing larger, juicier mussels. In the summer month they thin out in the warmer water, so you get smaller mussels, although they are still delicious!
Wine Pairings
The obvious thing to do with this recipe is pair it with the bottle of white wine you’ve already opened. White wine might be a good choice for you if you are sensitive to spicy food, as it will help cool it down, while red wine, especially one with a lot of acidity and tannins might turn the heat up. If you prefer a red wine, try something that is on the sweeter side and not super tannic. So here are a few suggestions and there are a couple in there for all you red lovers as well:
- Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio Alto Adige, Santa Margherita, Italy
- Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
- Villa Caverna Amarone, Corvina, Italy
Related
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Pairing
Mussels Fra Diavolo (Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Medium saucepan
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
For the diavolo sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 whole cloves of garlic peeled
- 28 oz can San Marzano Tomatoes pureed
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon calabrian chili paste or bomba
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt to taste
For the mussels
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small shallot minced
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 cup dry white wine like a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
- 3 pounds live mussels cleaned and debearded
For serving
- ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley chopped
- Garlic bread
Instructions
Make the Diavolo sauce:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 6 of the whole garlic cloves and cook them until they are caramelized and golden brown in color, about 7-8 minutes.
- Gently mash the garlic in the pot with a fork or with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste to the sauce and stir until it turns a deep red color, about 3 minutes.
- Add the calabrian chili paste, red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the pureed San Marzano tomatoes. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Cook the mussels:
- ** Wait until the diavolo sauce is ready to start on the mussels because they will only take a few minutes. If you are serving these mussels with garlic bread this is also the time to put your garlic bread in the oven.
- In a dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the thinly sliced garlic and shallots and cook until the shallots are translucent and starting to caramelize, about 2 -3 minutes.
- Add the white wine and boil until the liquid reduces by about half.
- Add the spicy tomato sauce and stir together.
- Add the mussels into the pot and cover it with a lid. Cook the mussels until they are open, about 3-5 minutes.
- Transfer the mussels and sauce into a large serving bowl and top with freshly cut parsley and garlic bread. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- The portion sizes in this recipe are appetizer sized portions, however this would be a great light meal for 2 people if you wanted to make it the main event.
- Calorie calculation does not include garlic bread.
- Calories are estimated and can vary depending on variation in ingredients and portion sizes.
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