Mussels with White Beans, Wine and Garlic
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When I was a little girl my mother would often take my sister and I on the long walk up the beach to Coskata (the actual spelling, and the name of the wilderness preserve on Nantucket) for a special adventure- catching mussels for dinner.
Armed with PB&J sandwiches, lathered in sunscreen, and carrying a big empty cooler with ice, we'd take the long, beautiful walk along the beach to the inlet, timing it to get there just as the lowest point in the tides arrived. There, along the exposed banks that led back into the pond we'd find walls of blue mussels, which we'd carefully pick, pulling the seaweed "beards" off before dropping them into the cooler.
The tide would turn after about an hour or so and we'd ride the current back out to the harbor with our cooler floating along with us, full of mussels and any stray clam or two we'd stumbled upon.
Trudging back along the beach seemed harder on the way home as visions of our dinner of mussels danced in our heads. Sloshing along in knee-high water to keep the heavy cooler afloat, my mother would describe the various ways we might cook them and we'd argue about which was our favorite. For me, this recipe with white beans was always the best.
The creaminess of the Cannellini beans soaks up just enough of the flavors from the mussels, the wine, the sherry, garlic and red chili flakes to give real substance to the dish and balance the mussels. The beans also stretch this meal to a real main course, or a filling starter for a larger group, and don't forget the bread, because you'll want to sop up all the delicious juices.
I've tried this with the addition of cherry tomatoes- very good, but I think I'm partial to this simpler approach. Try mixing in fresh dill, rosemary, basil, or maybe some lemon zest for a bit of variety and find the combo that suits you, but make sure that any addition doesn't overwhelm the delicate flavor of the mussels. One final note- don't skip the sherry, as it adds a complexity to these mussels that you'll miss.
Simple flavors come together quickly for a seafood supper that lingers lovingly in your memories long after the meal.
Sweet and briny mussels and their juices lend complexity to the blank canvas of cannellini beans.
Garlic, wine and sherry give bass notes and bright touches to this richly seasoned summer stew.
Try adding the bright flavor of lemon zest and fresh rosemary, or sweet cherry tomatoes for a slightly different spin on this summer classic.
Ingredients:
2 lb. mussels, cleaned and debearded
4-6 cloves garlic, sliced
3/4 C. dry white wine
3/4 C. dry sherry wine
3 T. olive oil
1 C. low sodium vegetable broth
2 14 oz. cans of cooked Cannellini beans (or other white beans of your choice), drained and rinsed.
1 T. red pepper flakes (adjust to your taste, or use a fresh chili to vary the flavor a bit)
3 T. chopped parsley leaves, or a handful of dill for garnish
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 loaf crusty French bread for serving
Method:
Don't love shells at the table? While preparing the beans, remove the mussels from their shells, stirring them directly into the beans and discarding the shells for a more manageable, but arguably less dramatic, tableside presentation.
Shawn Laughlin
I'm a foodie turned entrepreneur. In love with delicious food and the moments spent gathered around a big, beautiful table. When I'm not behind my desk at Caskata you can find me in the kitchen, or the garden behind our newly-renovated mid-century ranch house.
