Zuppa di Cozze alla Tarantina

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot with tight-fitting lid (at least 8 quarts)
• •Stiff brush for scrubbing mussels
• •Large ladle
• •Warm, deep bowls for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the mussels

   Scrub the mussels under cold running water. Pull off any beards, the fibrous threads that cling to the shell. Discard any mussels that are cracked, broken, or refuse to close when tapped sharply. An open mussel that will not close is a dead mussel, and a dead mussel will make you ill. This is not negotiable.

   Fresh mussels should smell of the sea, clean and briny. If they smell of anything else, of ammonia or rot, return them to your fishmonger with words.
2. 2

   Infuse the oil

   In a pot large enough to hold all the mussels with room to spare, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic cloves and the peperoncino. Let them sizzle gently until the garlic turns pale gold at the edges, about 2 minutes. The garlic must not brown. The moment it threatens to darken, remove the pot from the heat briefly.

3. 3

   Add wine and tomatoes

   Pour in the white wine. Let it bubble vigorously for one minute to cook off the raw alcohol. Add the crushed tomatoes and the fish broth. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Let this cook for 5 minutes to marry the flavors. The broth should taste balanced, with the tomato bright but not dominant. Season cautiously with salt. The mussels will release their own brine.

4. 4

   Steam the mussels

   Raise the heat to high and add all the mussels at once. Cover the pot tightly. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the pot once or twice by its handles. The mussels are done when they have opened. Remove the lid and check. Any mussel that remains stubbornly closed after 6 minutes should be discarded. It was dead before it reached your pot.

   Overcooking mussels turns them to rubber. The moment the shells gape open, they are ready. Not one minute longer.
5. 5

   Finish with parsley

   Remove the pot from heat. Scatter the chopped parsley over the mussels and stir gently to distribute it through the broth. The parsley should remain bright and fresh. You may remove the garlic cloves now if you wish, though they have become soft enough to spread on bread.

6. 6

   Serve immediately

   Ladle the mussels and their broth into warm, deep bowls, dividing them evenly. Drizzle each portion with a thread of your best olive oil. Place two slices of grilled bread alongside each bowl. The bread is not a suggestion. It is essential. The liquor at the bottom of the bowl, a mixture of tomato broth, wine, and mussel essence, is the soul of this dish. Every drop must be claimed.

Chef Tips

• •Buy mussels the day you plan to cook them. Store them in a bowl in the refrigerator, covered with a damp towel. Never submerge them in fresh water, which kills them.
• •Farm-raised mussels are often cleaner and more consistent than wild. They require less scrubbing and have fewer barnacles. There is no shame in choosing them.
• •If you cannot find fish broth, use water. A commercial fish stock with excessive salt or off flavors will harm this dish. The mussels provide their own depth.
• •The bread must have structure. A soft roll will disintegrate. You want bread that can soak up broth without collapsing, that has crust worth chewing. Toast it or grill it with olive oil.

Advance Preparation

• •Mussels can be cleaned and debearded up to 4 hours ahead. Store them in the refrigerator, covered with a damp towel.
• •The tomato and wine broth can be prepared through step 3 up to one day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it before adding the mussels.
• •This dish does not hold. Cook it when your guests are seated and hungry. The mussels toughen as they cool, and the magic of this soup is in eating it immediately, while steam still rises from the bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)