Linguine with Mussels for Alex

One of Alex's favorite dinners (and certainly, mine, too) is linguine with mussels. We make ours with lots of good olive oil, garlic, wine, butter, freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, chopped tomatoes and a sprinkling of parsley. Optional ingredients at the table are dried red peppers and grated parmesan. This is a fast and easy meal with a baguette, and it makes some really great next day leftovers.

Linguine with Mussels

1 lb dried linguine
1 - 2 pounds of fresh or frozen mussels
good olive oil
chopped onion
fresh cloves of garlic
unsalted butter
white wine
One big ripe juicy tomato, chopped
salt, pepper
parsley

Boil the linguine in a great pot of boiling water. Saute a whole chopped onion in a bit of olive oil and butter - about half and half. Add as much chopped garlic as you like - negotiate with family members if that is necessary. I also like to add dried red pepper at this point, but if you have tendermouths, you might like to save this as a garnish at the table.

Once the garlic has turned translucent add about a half a bottle, maybe a tad less, of white wine, bring to a boil and then add in the mussels, cover with a lid and steam for about five minutes.

By now the pasta should be done, so scoop it out of the pot straight into the pan of mussels. Reserve some hot pasta water to use if the sauce dries out too much. Toss the pasta with the mussel mixture to coat. Add a little butter and a little olive oil for extra body and flavor. Turn off the heat and adjust the sauce with pasta water if necessary. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parley and tomato and ladle into bowls. You want enough broth to be able to dip your bread.

Enjoy! We do!