Mussels are a fantastic ingredient to cook with, as they can be easily transformed into either a delicious main dish or a flavorful seafood appetizer. In this mussel recipe, light coconut milk and curry seasoning blend together with diced sweet yellow onion and tomato, to make these fresh mussels both flavorful and unforgettable.
When it comes to mussels, I absolutely adore them; they are probably one of my all-time favorite appetizers. Not only do they taste amazing but they also go perfectly with crusty bread. Yes ya’ll, I am a bread sopper, meaning that I love nothing better than sopping a big ol’ piece of bread in a flavorful broth or sauce. That alone is probably why I am so fond of mussels.
While I do love mussels cooked in a rich thick cream sauce, like these mussels, this year I’m trying a little harder to make our food a wee bit healthier. That means that whenever possible, I’m trying to avoid heavy cream. I’m not gonna lie, it sucks, ’cause I do love me some cream, however, with all of the flavor packed in this recipe, it’s not such a bad thing. Light coconut milk makes this sauce much lighter while also giving it and the mussels a lovely taste and aroma.
This sauce also tastes great over rice or pasta if you don’t happen to have any bread on hand. I tried it with both pasta and rice and preferred the rice version the best, however, I think if I had used angel hair pasta instead of shells, I most likely would have liked that just as much. Sadly, the texture of the pasta shells competed with the delicate character of the mussels. One more reason to stick to bread sopping.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Sweet Yellow Onion, Finely Diced
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 (13.66-oz.) Can Light Coconut Milk
- 2 Teaspoons Sweet Curry Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Roma Tomato, Deseeded & Finely Diced
- 2 Pounds Fresh Mussels
- Cilantro, Finely Chopped
Directions:
- Place the olive oil, diced onion, and sea salt in a large saute pan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the coconut milk, curry powder, and pepper to the pan and continue to cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the diced tomato and mussels to the pan, stir, and then cover.
- Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the mussels are done, stirring once after 3 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.
Suggestions:
- Soak the mussels in fresh water for 20 minutes before cooking them. This will help to filter out any sand. After soaking, gently lift the mussels out of the water and place them in a strainer to remove any beards. Discard any broken or open mussels.
- Make sure to cook your mussels in a large enough pan to easily stir them around in, which also has a tight-fitting lid to help them steam properly.
- Discard any cooked mussels whose shells have not opened.
- Serve over rice or pasta, or with slices of crusty garlic bread.
Improvements:
- Squeeze a little bit of fresh lime juice over the mussels before serving.
- If you like spice, experiment with different curry powders until you find one that fits your flavor palette.
- Add some crispy crumbled bacon to the coconut curry sauce.
- If you enjoy mussels, make sure to try these Drunken Irish Mussels.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Sweet Yellow Onion, Finely Diced
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 (13.66-oz.) Can Light Coconut Milk
- 2 Teaspoons Sweet Curry Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Roma Tomato, Deseeded & Finely Diced
- 2 Pounds Fresh Mussels
- Cilantro, Finely Chopped
Directions:
- Place the olive oil, diced onion, and sea salt in a large saute pan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the coconut milk, curry powder, and pepper to the pan and continue to cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the diced tomato and mussels to the pan, stir, and then cover.
- Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the mussels are done, stirring once after 3 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.
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MORE GREAT SEAFOOD RECIPES
Fish & Potato Chowder with Irish Whiskey
Cajun Lime Corn Chowder with Crab
Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517@gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas. This month’s “Out of the Shell and Into the Pan” themed Fish Friday Foodies event is hosted by Culinary Adventures with Camilla.
