Saffron mussels

Seafood has to be amongst my favorite things to eat, and I always found it somewhat threatening to cook: maybe because there are so many different types with different cooking times, maybe because I used to be scared to overcook it and make it rubbery, maybe for the fear of not buying it fresh enough (I live pretty far away from any seaside).

Mussels are actually ridiculously easy to cook: they require hardly any prepatarion time and cook in under 10 minutes. There are so many recipes and they’re all very simple, whether you like them with wine and parsley (alla marinara), with lemon and pepper (impepata), in a tomato sauce (alla tarantina). My favorite way of cooking them must be with saffron: the delicate yet decise taste pairs perfectly with the briny taste of the mussels.

It’s the perfect dish to serve to your guests: it doesn’t require much time to prepare so you won’t have to stay in the kitchen for too long, and it looks beautiful when served in a Dutch oven.

Serve it piping hot with some crunchy fries to dip in the sauce and chilled white or rosé wine and it will make a perfect main course to your dinner or al fresco lunch.

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Ingredients

Serves: 4 portions

Prepping time: 15 min

Cooking time: 10 min

Ingredients:

• 1,5kg mussels - make sure the shells have been cleaned

• 1 onion

• 50ml white wine

• 2 bags of saffron

• Olive oil

Preparation

• Rinse your mussels a few times under running water. In the meanwhile, heat up a large pan with some olive oil, and add the onion, chopped.

• Mix the saffron in a bit of the white wine and let it dissolve.

• Once the onion is golden, add your mussels. As soon as they start opening, add the remaining white wine and your saffron-wine mixture, and cover with a lid.

• When all the mussels are open, leave them to cook another few minutes to allow all the juices to enrich your sauce.

• Top with fresh parsley and serve immediately!