Summer Pasta With Strozzapreti, Arugula, Potatoes & Mussels
By: Patricia Turo
Published: Monday, August 9, 2010 - 10:19am

Ingredients




1 pound strozzapreti, cavatelli or any pasta of your choice
1 bunch arugula (rucola in Italian)
1/4 pound of potatoes
1 pound of mussels
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 pepperoncino

Preparation

1 Wash the mussels thoroughly and let them soak for about 1/2 hour in cold water, changing the water a few times. Remove the piece of seaweed that is between the shells. Steam them in a small amount of boiling salted water. This will take 3-6 minutes; discard any that have not opened. Strain out all the liquid and reserve it for the sauce. Remove most of the mussels from their shells, keeping about 5 per person for garnish. 2 Peel and cut the potatoes into small squares, par boil them in salted water. Set them aside. 3 In a skillet, sauté the oil and onions until they become slightly translucent. Add the garlic and pepperoncino and cook a few more minutes.  Add the reserved mussel liquid and boil it down to about half. Add the cubed potatoes. 4 In a large saucepan, cook the  in salted boiling water. Three minutes before the strozzapreti is cooked add the arugula in with the cavatelli and cook until the strozzapreti is al dente. Drain them and toss them into the skillet blending them until they are completely covered with the sauce.