Cozze Alla Tarantina - Mussels Taranto-Style

Cozze Alla Tarantina, or mussels Taranto-style, is a typical seafood dish from the city of Taranto in Puglia in the south of Italy. Taranto is famous for its mussels and this simple but delicious seafood appetiser combines the flavours of the sautéed garlic and chilli with the tomatoes, mussels, wine and fresh parsley to create a truly unforgettable dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1kg fresh mussels
• 3 garlic cloves
• 10g basil
• 10g parsley
• 1 large fresh chilli
• 100ml white wine
• 800g Mutti polpa di pomodoro - chopped tomatoes 
• 1 loaf semolina or sourdough bread, to serve 

Method

1. Scrub the mussels under cold running water and remove the beards. Discard any mussels that are open and do not close when tapped.
2. Finely chop one of the garlic cloves and crush the other two. Snap the chilli and finely slice half of it. 
3. Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic and chopped chilli, sautéing until fragrant (about 1 minute). Then stir in the Mutti polpa di pomodoro - chopped tomatoes and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large, deep pan over a medium heat. Add the crushed garlic cloves and the whole half chilli, sautéing until fragrant (about 1 minute).
5. Increase the heat to high and add half of the fresh basil and all of the parsley (stalks and leaves) then add the mussels. Pour in the white wine, give it a good stir and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 2–3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the mussels start to open.
6. Once the mussels are all open, with a sieve drain and save the mussel juices. Discard the garlic, chilli and parsley stalks and any mussels that haven't opened.
7. Once the tomato sauce has finished cooking, tear and stir in the remaining fresh basil leaves, the mussel juices and all the opened mussels. Give it a good stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes. 
8. Slice and toast the bread then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. 
9. On a large platter place the toasted bread all around to soak up all the sauce, then pour the mussels and the sauce in the middle.  Enjoy! 

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