Think spaghetti alla Tarantina, with a few tweaks. Fresh mussels get cooked in a garlicky cherry tomato sauce and finished with chopped Italian parsley. The secret is in the lemon zest that sizzles in oil, bringing a bright citrus note throughout.
Now, without sounding totally pretentious, I want to tell you about the first time I had this pasta. We were on a boat trip in Southern Italy (I know, I know) cruising around the island of Ischia on a day tour, when out of no where our guides—a father-son duo none the less—whipped this up for lunch. I don't know what kind of magic was happening down in that hull but this pasta was one of the best of the entire trip. I thought the magic maybe laid in the ~vibes~ after all, being on a boat in the sea is pretty sweet, but to my surprise it was just as good at home in my tiny kitchen.
Why I love this recipe
- Quick prep: There's not a lot of chopping involved here and mussels come pretty clean from the store. Everything can be done in 5 minutes or less.
- Serves a crowd: You'll comfortably get four portions but could be stretched to six with a side or two.
- Affordable but Fancy: Mussels are one of the more affordable seafood options making this a steal that's sure to impress.
Serve it with this sliced zucchini salad with pecorino and pecans or try it with my grilled vegetable salad with burata and salsa verde. You'll also want a slice of the good bread to soak up any extra sauce left in the pot.
Jump to:
Ingredients
With a short ingredient list there's not much to hide behind. The quality of each is going to stand out and make a difference in the finale dish. But that doesn't mean breaking the bank, just reach for the best you can afford.
- cherry tomatoes
- scrubbed and cleaned mussels
- short, tube pasta (like rigatoni)
- garlic
- parsley
- lemon
- olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
See recipe card below for exact measurements.
Instructions
- Step 1: Cook cherry tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and parsley stems until bursting.
- Step 2: Add mussels and cover to cook. You'll know it's ready when the mussels open.
- Step 3: Remove mussels, add parsley and cooked pasta. Stir with pasta water until emulsified.
- Step 4: Add mussels back in and serve with fresh bread.
Equipment
Here's everything you'll need to make my pasta with mussels and cherry tomatoes at home:
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- large pasta pot
- large stainless steel sauce pan
- spider or strainer
I've linked all my favourite kitchen tools on my Amazon storefront.
Top Tip
Before cooking your mussels, go through each thoroughly and discard any that have already opened, or have cracks or breaks in the shell. You want them to be tightly closed and smooth. At the same time, give the good ones a quick rinse and double check that the beard has been removed. The beard is the hair-looking thing that's jammed between the clamps on the inner side of the shell. Fun fact: this is actually what the mussel uses to attach itself to rocks in the water!
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pasta with Mussels and Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pot of salty water to boil. You want the water to be extra salty to mimic the fresh ocean seafood of Italy—I add ¼ cup salt to 5QT of water. Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley leaves (setting aside the stems for later) and 4 garlic cloves.
- In a large sauce pan heat ¼ cup olive oil on medium-low. Zest 1 lemon straight into the pan, then add chopped garlic and whole parsley stems. Give it a good stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Your whole kitchen should smell of lemony garlic.
- Add 700g whole cherry tomatoes and turn heat to medium-high. Cook the cherry tomatoes until they burst, about 15 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes, releasing their juices, to form a rustic sauce. Around this time, drop your pasta and cook to al dente by following package instructions.
- When most of the tomatoes have burst, add 750g mussels and bring to a boil. Cover and cook, occasionally shaking the pan, until the mussels have opened. Remove the mussels and set aside. At the same time, remove and discard the parsley stems.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to the sauce pan along with ¼ cup pasta water. Stir until the sauce has emulsified and the pasta is evenly coated. Finish with chopped parsley before giving it a final toss. Serve pasta topped with mussels and resist the urge to add parmesan—I swear it doesn't need it!
Thanks so much for reading, if you love this recipe please consider leaving a review. If you take any pictures, please tag me @stefsdinner on Instagram, TikTok and Youtube.
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