Mussels with White Wine (Cozze al Vino Bianco)

We love mussels. We love them with a clear broth or a tomato broth, baked or steamed, stuffed – even raw. What’s more, we like them with an Italian flair, or French, Spanish, Thai, or Mexican – we pretty much just like mussels.

I’ve eaten mussels so many times during my travels to Italy and France in particular, that they have become a favorite dish of mine when traveling. You can find them atop pasta, served on their own, paired with rice, or as part of a seafood extravaganza. Whether you are dining in the center of Rome or Paris, or on the seaside of Greece or Sicily, mussels are a dish you should definitely try while on a culinary tour of Italy, France, or pretty much any other place.

How to Prepare Mussels

Mussels are an incredibly easy seafood to prepare. They may seem exotic, but you basically put them in a hot pan, cover, and leave for a few minutes. And that’s pretty much it.

Of course, what else you put in the pan will determine to a large degree how they taste. Here we’re using an Italian version, so it should be no surprise that there are only a few simple, pure ingredients harmoniously combined. You might notice we’ve omitted the tomatoes in this recipe, although you can find many Italian-style mussel dishes that include them. You could also easily change it up and go for any type of flavor profile you prefer, even combining it with meat like pancetta, chorizo, or jamon.

One of the best parts of a mussel dish is the broth at the bottom, which is an infusion of the mussels’ juice with whatever you’ve cooked them in. The result, when done right, is enough to bring tears to one’s eyes (or at least to mine – yes, I’ve wept over a spoonful of mussel broth before). The classic way of soaking up this broth is with crusty bread served on the side, but you can easily use a spoon for a gluten-free version.

A note on purchasing the mussels: don’t soak them when you get them home, just remove them from their packaging and place them in a bowl in the fridge lightly covered with a damp towel.