You’ve had a long hard day, haven’t you? You’re hungry, you’ve worked your tail off, and the last thing you want to do is slave over dinner. I know the feeling. It’s days like this when all I want to do is veg out in front of the evening news with a nice glass of wine.

Where is that house boy when you need him?

Here’s a dinner for you that’s so easy it’s just silly. Hopefully you already have that bottle of white wine open. If you can also muster up the strength to open a can of tomatoes, crack open a jar of capers and quickly sear some fish, then a great meal is minutes away. And, your family will think you really outdid yourself. No need to be a hero and admit you just whipped it up. Some things are just better left unsaid <wink>.

Tomato Caper Tuna
We always have a few fillets of fish, such as albacore loin, in our freezer. Although just about any type of fish would be wonderful in this dish. There’s no need to measure, this is what I love about one-pot cooking.

Slice fish into 1/4″ medallions. Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan on medium-high and quickly sear both sides of the medallions (about 1 minute or less on each side).

Toss in a can of chopped stewed tomatoes and pour in about 1/2 cup of the white wine you have open (then do it Julia-style and take a little swig of that wine yourself – again, it’s been a long day!).

Add a couple of tablespoons of capers and stir. Simmer a couple of minutes until the alcohol in the wine burns off.

Remove from heat and top with the zest of one lemon. Great with rice and a nice green salad.

Now wasn’t that easy!

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It wasn’t until I lived in Seattle, with easy access to Taylor Shellfish Farms, that I truly began to love mussels. How many meals afford you the opportunity to gobble and scoop with the food’s own shell? Such satisfaction is gained from a big bowl of steamed mussels, a good glass of white white and a crusty bread for dipping into the juices.

I adore clams and love oysters, but to me, mussels are so much sweeter. The briny liquor that they release when cooked adds such rich flavor and versatility.

While there are many species of mussels, we generally only find two in American markets. The most common is the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). Why they are called blue, I don’t know, because they are actually black. The other type are the beautiful blue-green mussels (Perna canaliculus). These hail from New Zealand and are a bit more expensive than their blue brother, and are also larger, making them good for stuffing.

My favorite way to prepare mussels (either species) is with white wine, parsley and garlic, also known as moules á la marinière.

Moules á la Marinière

For 4 main-course servings:
6 lbs mussels
2 C dry white wine
3 shallots, finely chopped or sliced garlic
1 bay leaf
3 T finely chopped parsley
1-2 cloves thinly sliced garlic
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 stick (or 1/4 lb) of butter
fresh ground pepper
Wash the mussels and pull away the beards.

Combine the wine, shallots, bay leaf, parsley, and thyme in a stockpot and simmer over medium heat. After about 5 minutes add the mussels, cover the pot, and turn heat up to high.
When at a full steam, lower to medium and cook for about 5 minutes more.
Hold the lid down and shake the pot to redistribute the mussels. Return to heat for about 2-3 more minutes.
Remove from heat and remove any mussels that have not opened. (Really, folks, don’t mess with the unopened ones).
Carefully pour remaining liquid into a clean saucepan. Sand may be remaining so be careful to not dump all at once, pour gently and slowly.
Add the chopped parsley and garlic to the hot broth and whisk in butter and pepper. Heat for a couple of minutes then ladle over mussels. Serve with a crusty French bread and you’re in business.

Bon appétit!

Here’s a wonderful article from Cook & Eat on mussels and potatoes
Bay of Fundy’s Spiced Beer Mussels sound wonderful as well.

More important information on how to Buy, Store & Clean mussels.

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