‘Nduja mussels recipe

Add a punch of ’nduja (spicy soft sausage) to your mussels – they will be out-of-this-world delicious.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 1kg fresh mussels
• 25g butter
• 4 echalion shallots, finely sliced
• a few thyme sprigs
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 80g ’nduja paste (from a jar)
• 3 chargrilled red peppers (from a jar), drained and chopped
• 250ml white wine
• a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• lemon wedges, to serve
• crusty bread, to serve

Method

1. Wash and debeard the mussels. If any are open, give them a few taps with a knife – discard any that don’t close.
2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan for which you have a lid, over a low to medium heat. Add the shallots, thyme and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until the shallots are tender.
3. Add the ’nduja and peppers and cook for another few minutes, until the ’nduja paste has melted down.
4. Add the wine and mussels and put the lid on the pan. Steam for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through to ensure the mussels cook evenly. Check all the mussels have opened and if not, give it a minute or so longer. Discard any still closed after this time.
5. Taste the cooking broth and season with salt and pepper (the ’nduja will be salty, so you may not need much salt), then stir in most of the parsley.
6. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over, the remaining parsley and chunks of bread to mop up the broth.

Recipe from BOLD: Big Flavour Twists to Classic Dishes by Nisha Katona (Nourish Books, £30)