Mussel-Rice Bake
Mussels are one of my all-time favorite seafood. They’re cheap, they taste great, they cook quickly and are quite easy to work with, if you don’t mind scraping away a few barnacles or plucking out their beards.
Today, I’m going to share with you a very tasty mussel bake that consists of rice, tomatoes, summer squash, and all sorts of flavors that won’t hinder the flavors of the mussels but rather give some nice accenting flavors. I can’t wait to get these bad boys going, so let’s get to it!
How to Prepare Mussels
I understand that not everyone is familiar with preparing or cooking mussels, but the thing is that they don’t require that much skill to master. In fact, mussels are, I think, one of the best gateways for anyone unfamiliar with cooking shellfish, there’s just a few rules you need to keep in mind.
Before cooking, give your mussels a generous rinse under cold water.
Pick up each individual mussels and give them a check. Most grocery store mussels come with the barnacles scraped off, but one or two may slip through the cracks, you can just scrape those off with a paring knife.
Some mussels will have a little hairy bit on the side of the shell known as the beard and this is basically what mussels wave in the water to collect dust and impurities in the water. Because of this, the beard can give a gritty texture to the mussel broth, so you’ll want to get rid of that, you can do so by just pulling it out.
One important thing to remember is that mussels are alive and need to be alive up until the point you cook them, so watch each mussel shell closely and discard any mussels that have broken shells.
Mussels should also be closed tight until you cook them, but if any of them happen to be open then you can give them a few gentle knocks on your countertop or sink. If the mussels close on their own after doing this, then they’re still good, if not, then discard.
Follow these simple tips and you’ll find yourself a mussel pro in no time. Now, onto the recipe!
Serves 4-6
Time: 2 hours plus 1 hour soaking time
Difficulty: Easy
10oz Arborio rice
20 cherry tomatoes
3 pounds live mussels
Olive oil, for drizzling
1 onion, diced
1 pound red skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 zucchini (courgettes), cut into 1-inch rounds. (1/2 moons if using larger zucchini)
Chili flakes, to taste
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 cup breadcrumbs
Salt
Soak the rice in cold water for about an hour. (This ensures that the rice will be cooked fully once it’s baked with the other ingredients.)
Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters over a bowl to catch the juices. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.
Prepare the mussels as described above, then take a paring knife or oyster shucker and pry open the mussel shells in a twisting motion, keeping the blade pointed away from you. Keep the half shell with the mussel upright.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 C and coat the bottom of a 8x12inch baking dish with oil.
Drain the tomatoes of their juices into a measuring cup, then arrange these ingredients in even layers in the following order: onion, half of the sliced potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes and rice, lightly seasoning each layer with salt, chili flakes, parsley and a light drizzle of oil.
Finish with a layer of potatoes on top then lay the mussels on top of that.
Measure the juices from the tomatoes, and if it’s less than a cup then top it off with water and pour this over everything. Finally, generously cover the mussels with breadcrumbs and a final drizzle of oil.
Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake for another 30-45 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a knife into the potatoes. Let the bake cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
