Onion, Garlic & Parsley Mussels Recipe

I’m not sure what would qualify something as a “super food,” but for the purposes of this website, I’m going to consider mussels as one. The health benefits of these things are simply too great to ignore. Being from Maine, Laura and I are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to indulge ourselves in the pleasure of our fresh and tiny friends from the sea quite often.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve said it in the past week. “We have got to start eating more mussels. They’re cheap, they’re loaded with protein, vitamin B12 and vitamin C. They’ve also got important minerals such as selenium and manganese. They’re also very abundant and come straight from the shore.” It’s really a no-brainer. The only issue is that they contain cholesterol and inherently bring along sodium from the ocean. Not large amounts or anything, but if those two factors are important to you, they’re worth considering.

The Recipe

Like many other mussel recipes, this one is very simple to prepare. The simplicity is actually the appeal of eating mussels so often for many people. In this case, a mere six ingredients can offer up a healthy and enjoyable meal for two. If you double up on these same ingredients, you also double up on how many servings you can create. If doubling up, there’s nothing special that’s necessary. Just follow the same exact instructions below – only change the quantity of ingredients.

Ingredients

Serves: 2

2 Pounds Mussels, Cleaned and Rinsed
3 Tablespoons Regular Olive Oil
1 Medium Sized Sweet Onion, Chopped
1 Tablespoon Garlic, Minced
2 Cups Vegetable Broth
1/2 Cup Parsley, Chopped

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you look through this website, you’ll see an ever growing list of mussel recipes. Some are more rich than others and include butter and cream. Others are more simple and only include white wine or broth. As you become more familiar with these types of seafood dishes, you’ll find that many of the ingredients are interchangeable from recipe to recipe. For instance, I could have swapped out the broth below for heavy cream. I could have used shallots or scallions instead of sweet onion. As long as you stick with a theme or a general flavor profile, you’ll be fine. I will tell you this though – follow this blog for more awesome mussel recipes because Laura and I eat tons of them. I plan on sharing each and every dinner we prepare.

Sautée the Onion

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is to temperature, add the oil. Then, add in the chopped onion, stir and let cook between 5 to 10 minutes or until it softens and begins to brown.

Add the Garlic and Broth

Once the onion has browned and developed a bit of sweet flavor, go ahead and add in the minced garlic and let cook for another minute. Be sure to stir during this process as burned garlic tastes bitter. You just want to brown it as you did the onion. After a minute or so, slowly pour the broth into the pan and increase the stove top temperature to high.

Add Mussels and Parsley

When the broth begins to boil, add the mussels and the parsley to the skillet. Cover the skillet and wait 2 minutes. After that, remove the cover, stir the mussels being sure to scoop some of the broth up and pour it over the mussels. Finally, cover the pan again and wait another 4 minutes. After this time, all of the mussels should be opened and cooked. If some don’t open, discard them.

The Final Mussles

Preparing mussels is so easy I just can’t stand it. And as I mentioned above, you can get creative while doing it. For other fantastic recipes, I highly recommend the seafood stew I shared along with the mussels and fennel. Those two recipe were superb. Enjoy!