Mussels with White Wine and Fennel

This post is for my fellow Top Chef fans out there. It is my absolute favorite show on television and the current Top Chef All Stars season on Bravo is getting incredibly exciting as we near the finale. One of the highlights for me this year was the Mafioso-style Italian cook off challenge at Rao's restaurant in New York. Not only were the characters great fun to watch, all of the dishes looked mouth wateringly delicious. Spoiler alert for any ti-vo'ers reading.... I was thrilled to find Antonia's winning mussel recipe online. You can actually watch Chef Rick Moonen prepare them live at hulu.com. These mussels are super simple and absolutely fantastic. Don't forget some fresh crusty bread to serve on the side. Serves 2 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound of fresh black mussels 1 cup of thinly sliced fennel 1 large shallot, sliced (I added this) 1 clove of garlic, minced or grated (I upped to 3 cloves) 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 to 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems 4 fresh basil leaves, sliced (I used 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley) 1 tablespoon of butter (I upped it to 3 tablespoons) I found some beautiful mussels at Fresh Market. However, they handed them to me tied up in a plastic bag which I imagined was suffocating them so I promptly ripped an air hole for the little guys. When I got them home, I rinsed the mussels under cold water and carefully picked through them- discarding any broken ones or shells that were open (which means they are dead), tapping them first to see if they'd close up. You also need to "remove the beards" which I've always thought sounds creepy. Essentially you are looking for a little piece of fuzz sticking out of each shell...if you find it, pull it off. If you're not going to prepare them immediately, you can store them in a bowl of cold water in the fridge for a couple of hours. I started with the olive oil over medium high heat in a heavy dutch oven (a large skillet would work too, something with a lid.) I sauteed the fennel and shallot in the oil for 3-5 minutes until soft and tender but not brown- adding the garlic, red pepper flakes and thyme and cooking one minute longer. Next, I added the drained mussels to the pot, tossing them together with the veggies before adding the white wine. I covered the mussels with a lid (you're still medium high heat) and steamed everything together for 3-4 minutes until all of the mussel shells had opened and the meat had cooked through.

Note: I actually doubled this recipe to serve four- so don't let the above picture mislead you.

I removed the pot from the heat and added the fresh parsley and butter before serving hot. The butter melts into the wine creating a luxurious sauce for the mussels and dipping bath for some warm crusty bread.

Yummmm... mussels are one of my all time favorite dishes. I've had them all over the world and I can see why Antonia took the prize with this particular recipe! (Even though I was kinda rooting for Fabio.) The dish pairs well with a crisp and dry Pinot Grigio, Albarino or Savingnon Blanc.