I’m on a slight mussel kick at the moment. I can’t stop thinking about Eulogy’s beer mussels, Bona Cucina’s mussels in white wine, and most recently, a mussels in red sauce I had back in college. I found a recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce in an old Cooking Light I thought I’d try. I was hoping for a slightly spicy dish, so I altered some of the ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 bag mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, and keep warm.
I wrote in my paella post how to clean and debeard mussels. It’s not terribly complicated, but it took me a while to be ok with debearding. Once the mussels are cleaned and debearded, you can begin cooking.
Add olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Chop your onion, garlic and bell peppers.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add the bell pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
Remove the tomatoes from the can, reserving the liquid. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, liquid, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add mussels, increase the heat to medium and cover.
Cook for 7 minutes or until the shells begin to open. If any do not open, throw those out; do not eat them. Add the pasta to the same pot and mix to coat with the sauce.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
When I first tried this, I didn’t add any cheese. And there was a little something just missing. It was ok, but somewhat bland.
I’d add a bit more spice next time. Maybe more red pepper flakes, or even a few drops of hot sauce.
My boyfriend suggested adding Parmesan cheese, and it did really help the flavor of the dish, so be sure to add some at the end!
This could be a really stellar recipe with a few modifications. What would you add to change this from a three star recipe to a five star recipe?
Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 bag mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, and keep warm.
- Clean and debeard the mussels.
- Add olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Chop your onion, garlic and bell peppers.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the bell pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
- Remove the tomatoes from the can, reserving the liquid. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, liquid, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add mussels, increase the heat to medium and cover.
- Cook for 7 minutes or until the shells begin to open. If any do not open, throw those out; do not eat them. Add the pasta to the same pot and mix to coat with the sauce.
- Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
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https://icancookthat.org/2012/01/angel-hair-pasta-with-mussels-in-a-red-pepper-sauce.html
Mussels are my absolute favorite food in the world, though I don’t cook them myself often. Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
And I can eat that! Great recipe, thank you!
Being a veg, the mussels are out but I think I would live the delicate pasta with that beautiful sauce!
Fabulous recipe 😀
And I love your blog!!!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: Nutella Baking Week
Thanks so much! I love reading your posts as well 🙂
these photos are absolutely gorgeous. Anyone would get hungry looking at these!
Thanks Maureen, the colors of this dish really are quite nice, aren’t they?
This is exactly what I was craving tonight! Love the flavors in this dish, wish I had a giant bowl of mussels in angel hair pasta, doused in that vibrant red pepper sauce, yum! Great job, and mouth watering photos! Have a good one =]
I’m so glad to hear that!
Mussel is another one of which I never cooked at home though have tried at restaurants. Whenever I see mussels in the market, though tempted, I dare not buy. I sure learned what to do with it after seeing this recipe of yours. I can’t stop drooling over this recipe when seeing the pics you have shared here.
You’ll be surprised how easy cooking mussels really is; and well worth it!
I love mussels!! This looks great. (buzzed)
Thank you! And thanks to everyone that buzzed this into the Top 9 today, it was a happy Tuesday surprise!
Oh, how I love mussels. This looks fantastic, I really need to get myself some mussels and try cooking them myself 🙂 great dish!
I LOVE mussels. This sounds like a pasta dish I would love!
Midwesterners can always purchase frozen Mussels. Don’t be afraid to add hot sauce, chopped zuchinee, carrots, and mushrooms!!! Add mushrooms last.
I don’t cook mussels at home, just never tried to. But my daughter keeps asking me to all the time. This is one recipe I would love to try out. Looks incredible.
I love Angel Hair Pasta and Spicy Sauce – I can’t wait to try out your version sans mussels!
Nice Post
Wow, this pasta tastes pretty freakin awesome. Extra red pepper flakes, shrimp and clams = WOW WHEEEEE! Thank you so much 🙂