Mussels in Red Wine and Roasted Garlic
Number of Servings:
Source:
Ingredients
4 lb (1.8 kg) fresh PEI mussels
1 bulb garlic
2 Tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 red pepper, cored and chopped
1 cup (250 mL) red wine
1 (796 mL/28 fl oz) can diced plum tomatoes
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
handful fresh basil leaves, sliced, to garnish
Method
- Rinse fresh PEI Mussels under tap water. Tap any mussels that are still open and discard any that do not close after being tapped and rinsed. Set aside.
- Heat oven to 400°F/230°C. Place whole garlic bulb on tin foil and lightly coat in a little olive oil. Pull foil edges together and seal. Place package in oven and leave until bulb is very soft, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool a little. Cut the end off the bulb, so all cloves are visible. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Add shallots and red pepper and saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add red wine and stir well as it bubbles away. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper, and ‘squish’ roasted garlic cloves into pan; discard skins. Leave sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
- Add mussels to the pan, cover and leave to simmer for 5-7 minutes, until mussels are open. Discard any mussels that do not open.
- Toss mussels in sauce and divide between 4 bowls. Garnish with slivers of fresh basil.