Mussels In White Wine With Sopressata & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Every since I made my first trip to Italy back in 1987, one of my favorite seafood dishes has been sautéed mussels, often called Zuppa di Cozze. After my first taste of this dish in a seaside restaurant along the coast of Italy, I knew I had to learn to make it myself at home. I have made this dish often ever since as it is such an easy dish to make, and mussels are very inexpensive compared to many other types of seafood.

We make steamed mussels sometimes in tomato sauce, and sometimes in white wine like this particular dish. To spice this dish up a bit I added some chopped sopressata sausage and sun-dried tomatoes to my basic white wine and garlic preparation which gave the dish lots of flavor.

The mussels we bought for this dish came from a small fish store in Ponte San Giovanni outside of Perugia, and the owner told us they just came in that morning so we knew they were very fresh. Mussels can be sandy, and often require a good bit of cleaning.

I use a wire brush to scrub my mussels of sand and seaweed and to remove the beard. An hour before we cook our mussels we put them in a bowl of water with a little cornmeal to help clean them of any sand. The mussels will release a good deal of liquid themselves as they open so you really do not need much liquid to cook them in, but you will end up with some delicious flavorful broth, so serve this dish with slices of grilled crusty bread to sop up the delicious liquid. A bowl of steamed mussels in a tasty broth served with crusty bread and a nice big salad would make a great, quick mid-week meal.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 

Mussels In White Wine With Sopressata & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Mussels In White Wine With Sopressata & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

A spicy steamed mussel dish flavored with sopressata and sun-dried tomatoes.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 Teaspoon Butter
  • 4 Ounces Sopressata Sausage, Finely Chopped
  • 1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Oil Packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes
  • 4 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled & Minced
  • 1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1 Cup Dry White Wine
  • 2 Pounds Fresh Mussels Scrubbed
  • 1/3 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil and butter in a large bottomed saucepan.
  2. Once hot, add the sopressata, tomatoes, pepper flakes, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
  3. Add the white wine and bring to a boil.
  4. Add the mussels, cover with a lid, and cook over high heat for 5 minutes.
  5. Shake the pan and cook another 5 minutes or until all the mussels have opened.
  6. Add the parsley and scoop the mussels and broth into individual bowls.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1/2 pound
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 669Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 165mgSodium: 1467mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 63g

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4 Comments

  1. Thank you for this recipe. I have been looking for it and never found it. I was in Turin some years back for the Slow Food/Terra Madre convention and few of us had gone out for dinner and this was what my friends had ordered. I am a vegetarian but my husband loves seafood. I live in a small coastal town in India so getting fresh sea food is never a problem. Thank you once again.

  2. This recipe looks divine! I don’t know if I can find sopressata sausage in my locale, is there something else that would substitute? Thanks!

  3. This looks delicious, I often have mussels when eating out but haven’t cooked much with them at home so will defitely give this one a try. Thank you.

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