Mussels Marinara or Fra Diavolo

In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Then add the garlic and saute it for about 2 minutes, being careful not to brown it. Add the wine and bring the heat up to high. Bring the wine to a boil and simmer for another two minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the tomatoes (I crush the whole tomatoes out of the can by hand, removing any hard stem ends and discarding those. Then, pour the remaining sauce from the can into the pot as well). Add the salt and the black and red peppers.

Once the sauce is at a light simmer, add the mussels, give them a stir, raise the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until all of the mussels have opened, then stir in the parsley.

Remove any un-opened mussels and discard them. Serve with the warm baguette or over pasta, if desired.

Notes: There are a lot of different methods people use to “clean” their mussels. I know. I’ve tried them all! There’s soaking them in water with cornstarch, cornmeal or flour. Honestly, I haven’t noticed any of those methods working much better than just soaking them in a large bowl for about 15 to 20 minutes in cold water and a little bit of sea salt. That’s what I do. But then, I don’t scrub the mussels either. I’ll pull an occasional beard here and there, but honestly, I’m weird. I’m OK with that stuff! And really, a lot of the mussels in the stores now are “rope cultured,” so they are pretty clean.