I went by to pick up a fresh growler from The Crafty Draught last week and they had Anthony Bourdain on waxing poetic about fire roasted oysters. And while it may be blasphemy for a southern coastal boy like me to steer clear of oysters, I’ve recently become infatuated with mussels due to a little gentle prodding to try new things. So I thought I’d try my hand at some mussels today since they are apparently the easiest thing in the world to cook and fairly cheap. The whole meal took me about 5 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cook time and it cost me less than $10 for all the ingredients save for the delicious $15 growler of Black Canon IPA that The Crafty Draught was gracious enough to pour.

And save yourself some time and money and be sure to pick up your ingredients at Super H Mart. Literally 2/3 cheaper than any other grocery store and twice as good.

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound cultivated mussels

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil

• 1 bunch of chopped green onion

• 5 to 6 garlic cloves

• 1/2 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes, drained (4 ounces)

• 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

• 1 cup white wine

• 2 teaspoons sea salt salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 

To clean the mussels, put them in a large bowl with 2 quarts of water and the flour and soak for 30 minutes, or until the mussels disgorge any sand. Drain the mussels, then remove the “beard” from each with your fingers. If they’re dirty, scrub the mussels with a brush under running water. Discard any mussels whose shells aren’t tightly shut.

In a large non-aluminum stockpot (I used a dutch oven and it worked perfectly), heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes; then add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the tomatoes, saffron, parsley, thyme, wine, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add the mussels, stir well, then cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the mussels are opened (discard any that do not open). With the lid on, shake the pot once or twice to be sure the mussels don’t burn on the bottom. Pour the mussels and the sauce into a large bowl and serve hot.