Steamed Mussels with Tomato and Garlic Broth

If you want a fast and easy meal, this is it. I think it took about 30 minutes to prepare and cook. I felt so impressive when I served them. I'm not sure why, since mussels are one of the cheapest things you can buy. By the way, I LOVE the sound of the shells clicking together as they steam. Is that weird? Not to mention, an added bonus! You can entertain your baby with the empty shells! Yes, I made a funny voice and the mussels spoke to her. Ok, that might be weird. :)

Cook the sauce

Steam the mussels

Mix

Eat!

Recipe:

Serving Size = 2-3

Original Recipe

• 2 lbs of mussels, cleaned and steamed (or cooked in the broth)
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced (I reduced the recipe to 2-3 servings, but I left the garlic portion the same)
• 7 small tomatoes (or so...), chopped in wedges
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
• A little less than 1/4 teaspoon of dried or fresh thyme
• Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• S/P
• Oil

1. Add oil to a pan over medium heat. Toss in the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Reduce for about 20 minutes on medium- low (simmer). The tomatoes should soften, but a lot of liquid should remain. Add the parsley (I forgot about the parsley and sprinkled it on at the end).
3. Steam the mussels (do not over cook them). Discard any that are broken or do not open. They can either be steamed separately or steamed in the broth. If you steam in the broth, bring to boil and add the mussels in the last few minutes (they only take 3-5 minutes to cook). Whichever way you cook them, remove them as they open.
4. Add salt, pepper and mussels. Turn off the heat. Done!

I served it with garlic bread to soak up the broth. 

The flavors are very mild, although the garlic is strong. It was a nice change from the spicy Mexican food we had the other night.