Baked stuffed mussels

Method

1. Clean the mussels by washing them in plenty of cold water, scrubbing them well and pulling off the beards. Holding a mussel in a cloth, carefully make an incision around the open part of the shell with a sharp knife and open it gently, taking care not to break the shell. Discard the little black 'tongue' and 'lips' (i.e. the frill round the edge) of the mussel, as these taste bitter.

2. Remove the mussel flesh and any liquid and place in a bowl, reserving the empty shells.

3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the anchovies and stir with a wooden spoon until they have dissolved into the oil.

4. Add the garlic, chilli and capers to the anchovies. Once the garlic turns golden, stir in the mussels, reserving their liquid for later. Heat the mussels through, then add the wine and simmer gently for 1 minute.

5. Pour in the liquid from the mussels and stir in the parsley.

6. Remove the pan from the heat and add the bread cubes, then leave to cool.

7. When the mixture has cooled, place it on a chopping board and chop quite finely with a sharp knife. Then transfer to a bowl and mix well.

8. Dry the mussel shells and, using a tablespoon, generously fill both sides of each shell with the mussel mixture. Place the filled mussels in a roasting tray.

9. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.

10. To make the topping, mix together the breadcrumbs, parsley and olive oil in a bowl.

11. Sprinkle the topping mixture over the mussels and bake them for 15 minutes until golden brown.

12. Top each mussel with an anchovy fillet, a chopped green olive and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil.

13. Serve with a few green salad leaves.

Comments                        add a comment

Sounds lovely but not sure about feeding 4 persons! I could eat a dozen myself quite easily

Ingredients

12 fresh live mussels
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/2 small red chilli, finely chopped
20 capers
3 tbsp White wine
50g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
100g stale bread, cut into small cubes
green salad leaves, to serve

For the topping:

50g breadcrumbs
50g flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
12 anchovy fillets
12 green olives, chopped

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