Beer Steamed Mussels with Chorizo

This recipe is my husband's go to whenever he wants a late night movie snack. It is so easy and simple to put together and given the minimal ingredients, the results are delicious. Our local fish counter will usually have live, fresh Cornish mussels year round. I suggest using the fresh ones, as frozen mussels have a strange texture. I served these up with some crusty fresh bread and skinny french fries. This recipe serves two. If you need to serve more, just double the recipe, simple. I allow about 500 g. of mussels per person.

Enjoy xoxo

*To clean your mussels, place them in a colander and run under cold water. Discard any that won't close when you gently tap on their shell. Also throw away any that are broken.

Place them in a bowl of cold water with a tsp. of baking soda for 15-20 minutes. The baking soda will help them expel any sand or debris.

After 20 minutes, drain water and place back into colander. Scrub and rinse under cold running water. Pull off any beards and scrape barnacles off the shell with a paring knife. Now that they are clean and ready to go, keep them in the fridge until your ready to use. Mussels are highly perishable, so I always cook them on the day I buy them. We had this with a Chenin blanc wine and hubby had his with beer.

Beer Steamed Mussels with Chorizo

Serves 2

15 minutes

1 kg. (2 lbs.) Mussels, cleaned and debearded

100 g. Chorizo sausage, casing removed and cut into tiny cubes

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Bay leaf

60 ml. Extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. Tomato paste

1 Beer, about 330 ml., such as Stella Artois

200 ml. Chicken stock (you can use fish or selfish stock if you wish)

1 Can chopped tomatoes, undrained

4 Cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. Sweet smoked paprika

1 tsp. Ground ginger

1 tsp. Celery salt, optional but highly recommended

1 Lemon, 1/2 juice only and other half reserved to serve

1 Bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, stalks and leaves separated and chopped ( you can also use fresh coriander/cilantro)

Salt and pepper to taste

I like to add a few dashes of Tabasco at the end for a little kick, but it is totally optional

Crushed red chilli flakes or even fresh red chilli would work nicely

We had this with a Chenin blanc wine and hubby had his with beer.

1. In a large pan, add olive oil, chorizo parsley stalks and onions. Saute until onions are translucent and chorizo starts to smell fragrant. Add garlic, bay leaf and tomato paste. Cook for 30 seconds stirring constantly.

2. Add the tomatoes, beer, spices, stock and juice of half a lemon. Bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium, taste sauce and adjust salt to taste.

3. Add mussels, cover and let steam for 2-3 minutes. Uncover and give the mussels a good stir, throw in half the chopped parsley leaves, reserving the rest to finish the dish.

4. Cover pot and let cook another 2-3 minutes tops. Mussels should be wide open. Discard any that haven't opened. Stir the mussels one last time and serve topped with remaining parsley and lemon wedges.