Linguini with Mussels and Rosemary

This is such an easy dish to throw together on nights when cooking can be a chore.

Access to fresh mussels is a must. It's quite easy on the East Coast to get local mussels but the CC realizes that this may not be the case elsewhere.

The CC has shelled the mussels below but you need not. Just toss it all together. If you don't have rosemary, use thyme, or tarragon, or parsley. They all work perfectly.

Coupled with a simple salad, and some crusty bread to mop up the juices, it makes a perfect weekday meal. (You can share the rest of the bottle of white wine to go with it.)

Ingredients

1 lb mussels
1 onion (chopped coarsely)
2 sprigs rosemary (chopped)
3/4 cup white wine (substitute by stock/water.)

linguini (or even spaghetti)
salt
pepper

Recipe

Heat a tiny bit of oil. Toss in the mussels, and stir just for a bit. Add in the wine. Cover and steam them until they open (about 2-3 minutes.) Do not overcook. (The CC removes the mussels one by one using tongs as they open.)

Now, you want to keep the mussel water because it has all the flavor but it may have grit so you need to filter it.

Separately, in a large pan, fry the onions. Add the rosemary, black pepper, and then the mussel water. Reduce just a little bit not too much.

Cook the pasta just under al dente in heavily salted water. Toss with the mussels and the cooked liquid. Serve.

The CC has gotten it down so that the first two steps take exactly the same amount of time as the pasta to get done. So can you!