Mussels always seemed like one of those dishes best left to restaurants. I had visions of having to scrub away at dirty bearded mollusks (yikes, that sounds gross!), slaving over a stove and red alert potential for food poisoning. Turns out I was very, very wrong. In fact, mussels are so easy to make that I'd venture to say they have one of the best effort to impressiveness ratios out there and are easy enough for even the most novice of home cooks.
First off, mussels turn out to be very, very cheap. Whole Food was selling them this weekend for $3/lb and Publix had them for $4.99/lb. They are already cleaned and debearded so a good rinsing is all you need to do to prep them. I asked a Publix seafood department guy if their mussels were cleaned and debearded and his response was to look at me like I was insane and reply on, "these are mussels, ma'am.." Three employees later, I found someone who in fact knew something of mussels. Somehow I don't think I should be the most knowledgeable person in the seafood department, but after the
chorizo incident, nothing surprises me.
I served the mussels in their super flavorful broth along side crusty bread for dipping and a green salad. Truly a 30 minute, one-pot dinner, and so tasty. Mussels will definitely be in the rotation from here on out!
