A Taste of Wagner: The Recipe for Muscoli Ripieni (Stuffed Mussels)

Muscoli Ripieni (Stuffed Mussels)

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 small white roll of bread
Milk
2 pounds/450 grams mussels
3-½ ounces/110 grams mortadella, minced
2 sprigs fresh Italian (flat) parsley
1 pinch fresh thyme
1 pinch fresh marjoram
2 cloves garlic, with the green heart removed, minced
3-½ ounces/110 grams freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 ounce/30 grams freshly grated Pecorino
1 large egg
4 tablespoons/60 ml Ligurian extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
¾ pound/approximately 350 grams peeled tomatoes (canned or fresh)
3 ounces/85 ml/ ½ glass dry white Ligurian wine such as Cinqueterre, Vermentino, or Pigato (or Tuscan Vernaccia di San Gimignano)
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Break the roll in half and pull out all of the bread within. Save the crust for some other cooking use, such as making crumbs. Soak the bread in enough milk so that the bread is thoroughly moistened but not overwhelmed. Scrub all the mussels thoroughly, removing the “beards” and anything else attached to the shells. Carefully, using a sharp knife, open about two-thirds of the mussels, making sure you do not open the shells too wide. Place them in a colander so that any liquid will drain out. Then place enough water to cover the bottom of a flat pan with high sides that has a lid. Add the one-third of the mussels that you have not opened manually. Cover and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes, or until the mussels have opened and the meat is cooked. If any mussels do not open, discard them. Once done, remove the mussels from the shells and mince finely. Place the chopped mussels in a mixing bowl, add the mortadella, moistened bread (which you have broken up by hand), parsley, thyme, marjoram, garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, egg, salt, and pepper. Gently combine all of the ingredients until they are thoroughly blended. Stuff each of the uncooked mussels (those in the colander) with some of the filling, forcing down slightly each mussel as you put filling in the shell. Then close the shell and set aside. Take a large pan with high sides (perhaps the one you used previously) and heat the olive oil over a low flame. Add the onion slices and cook them until they are translucent. Then add the tomatoes and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until they begin to concentrate a bit as the excess liquid evaporates. While the tomatoes cook, you may add a little more salt and pepper if you wish. After cooking the tomatoes, remove the pan from the heat and carefully place each stuffed mussel in so the mussels are not piled one on top of another. Add the white wine. Cover the pan with the lid and cook over low to medium heat for about 30 minutes. The shells will open, and the filling will be cooked through. Serve with some of the tomato sauce, which should be sopped up with some good bread once you have eaten the mussels.  Serve with a glass of the wine you used in the recipes.