Interlude: Mussels in Harissa Broth

My goal for this weekend was to do Chile for cooking around the world, but somehow (a word which in this case means “Christina saw mussels at the Whole Foods seafood counter and willfully allowed her entire grocery shopping plan to be derailed”) this dinner happened instead. I know the whole point of this blog was to document dishes from around the world (and I promise that will be the vast majority of my updates!) but sometimes, a little tangent is in order- particularly when said tangent involves seafood, peppery tomato broth, bacon, and a little beer. Also, every continent on planet Earth (Antarctica included!!!) has access to saltwater mussels, so maybe this is the true universal dish, and therefore not even a tangent at all.*

*Let a girl indulge in some delusional justifications, please.

Thoughts: Seafood in broth/soup form + top-tier bread will forever & always be one of the greatest combos on the planet.

Ready to cook?

For this recipe, you’ll need a large Dutch oven and an immersion blender. If you don’t have either of those, a classic soup pot with a good, tight-fitting lid and a regular blender will get the job done- it’ll just be a bit more work!

Ingredients:

For the mussels and broth:

• 2lbs saltwater mussels, rinsed and scrubbed
• 1/2 cup chopped bacon (make sure you use bacon that has a decent amount of fat marbled in; you’ll be using this melted fat to cook the veggies)
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 1/2 cup sweety drop peppers + 1/3 cup of brine*
• 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (stems included)
• 1/3 cup roasted garlic cloves**
• 1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp Better Than Bouillon (chicken flavor), or 1-2 cubes of your preferred bouillon cube
• 1/4 cup spicy red harissa sauce (I like MINA the best; they also have a mild harissa sauce if that’s more your jam)
• 1/2 can of Coors Light
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk***
• 1 small carton of cherry or grape tomatoes (10-15 in total)
• 5 chopped green onions, white stems only

For the sourdough toast:

• 1 loaf of your favorite sourdough bread****
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Salt
• Garlic powder

*Sweety drop peppers (curse whatever idiot gave them such a moronic name) are the tiny, bright red peppers at the Whole Foods self-serve olive bar. You can either get them there (and if you do, remember to scoop a good amount of the juice/brine into your container too!) or you can buy them jarred.

**Same line of thinking as the sweety drop peppers- you can either snag these pre-made at the Whole Foods self-serve olive bar or, if you’re in the mood for brownie points, you can make them yourself. Note: Roasted garlic cloves are MUCH mellower than raw garlic cloves. If you want to use raw garlic cloves instead, only use 4-5 cloves, dice them finely, and brown them in the same step as the shallots and sweety drop peppers.

***99% of the time, coconut milk separates in the can (when you open it, there’s typically a few inches of solid, white cream at the top and then cloudy coconut water at the bottom). For this recipe, you just want that solidified cream + a little of the water.

****Splurge a little and get a freshly-baked loaf from the bakery section instead of grabbing one of those sad, pre-sliced loaves from the hamburger bun aisle.

Recipe:

1. Place your empty pot on a burner set to medium heat. Once the pot is warm, add the chopped bacon and cook until crispy.
2. Move the pot off of the burner and use a slotted spatula to remove the cooked bacon (it’ll get used again in step 8, so just put it on a plate). Keep 2 tablespoons-worth of the bacon grease in the pot and return the pot to the burner.
3. Add the diced shallot, sweety peppers (do not add the brine from the peppers in this step!), and 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro (with a good amount of stems included) to the bacon grease. Stirring occasionally, cook until the shallots are soft and beginning to brown.
4. Add in the roasted garlic cloves, roasted red pepper, bouillon paste (if using solid bouillon cubes, hold off and add these in during step 5), and harissa. Stir well to combine and then cook for around two minutes, until fragrant. Keep a close eye on the mixture- you don’t want it to burn.
5. Add the 1/2 can of beer, 1 cup of chicken broth, and the reserved sweety pepper brine. Stir well to combine and then bring the mixture to a low simmer.
6. Once simmering, remove the pot from the burner and blend the mixture with an immersion blender until no solids remain (you want a smooth, creamy mixture with no visible chunks of garlic, pepper, or cilantro stems). If you’re using a regular blender, ladle or pour the mixture carefully into the blender cup and pulse until smooth (you may need to do this in batches).
7. Return the pot to the burner and bring the mixture back to a low simmer. Then, add in a 1/2 cup of the solidified coconut cream and 1 tbsp of the thin liquid at the bottom of the can. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring until the cream has fully melted and incorporated into the broth.
8. Add in the whole tomatoes, chopped scallion stems, 3/4 cup of chopped cilantro (this time, you’ll want mostly leaves), and the bacon that you set aside during step 2. Stir well, and then bring the mixture to a boil.
9. Once boiling, add in the mussels, stir once, and then cover the pot tightly. Let the mixture cook for 8 minutes; at the 4 minute mark, give the pot a shake without removing the lid.
10. While the mussels cook, make the sourdough toasts. Combine olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp garlic powder in a small bowl. Slice your bread into 1-inch thick slices and lay the slices out on a cookie sheet. Brush the top side of each slice with the oil mixture, then pop in the broiler for 90-120 seconds (or until golden brown).
11. After the mussels have cooked for the full 8 minutes, remove the lid on the pot and stir. If any of the mussels haven’t opened, scoop them out with a spoon and discard.
12. Ladle mussels and broth into bowls and garnish with extra cilantro. Serve hot while the toasts are still warm.