Mussels and Fennel Fettuccini (As read by Alex Tuller, on the June 16 Podcast and prepared by Dean Temple)
Ingredients
2 pounds mussels
1 half fennel bulb, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
olive oil
1 can tomatoes in their juice
3/4 cup vermouth
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Several sprigs thyme
Chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Wash the mussels well, making sure to remove any beard. Cook mussels covered in a very hot pan (we used a large braiser). In this instance I coated with olive oil and poured in about 1/2 cup vermouth, although that is not necessary. Cover for a little over a minute, then start pulling out all of those opening mussels. Shell and cover with a damp paper towel to keep moist.
Pour of juices through cheesecloth and keep nearby. Reheat pan, add more olive oil, bring up in temperature and toss in fennel. Cook until softened. Then add garlic. Cook to fragrant, and toss in red pepper flakes. Cook another minute or two.
Add juice from mussels. If there is less than a cup, supplement with vermouth and allow to cook down by half. Add tomatoes and thyme sprigs. Smash with spoon. Our pan has a very broad surface, so I covered it to keep the moisture from cooking off too quickly. Periodically stir and smash the tomatoes down again.
Cook until it forms a sauce texture. At that point, season to taste add the mussels and turn off the heat. Serve with pasta of choice, garnished with freshly chopped parsley.
Pretty darned simple, and a nice little variation on standard tomato sauce.