Mussels, roasted cherry tomatoes, fennel
Mussel shells are the perfect vessel to catch fregola or other small pasta shapes. Here, I’ve
cooked them alongside a zesty, sticky sauce of cherry tomatoes, fennel, preserved lemon and
harissa. At the end, I toss through the cooked fregola, which plump up in the mussel sauce
with a succulence that only pasta can do. Pipis or clams work well here as a substitute for the
mussels and, in fact, you could even grill some calamari or prawns, too.
Serves 2 generously
2 tablespoons extra-virgin
oliveoil
2 garlic cloves, nely chopped
250 g cherry tomatoes
1 small fennel, chopped,
fronds reserved
1 teaspoon harissa
2 preserved lemon quarters,
skin only, nely sliced
125 ml (½ cup) dry white wine
1 kg mussels, scrubbed and
debearded (if you have any
mussels that are open, give
them a tap; discard any that
donot close)
zest of 1 lemon
crusty bread, to serve
FRESH PASTA FOR 2
fregola
DRIED PASTA FOR 2
ditalini, fregola, risoni
150
Place a large deep frying pan with a lid over medium heat.
Add the olive oil and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, then
add the tomatoes, fennel, harissa and preserved lemon. Give
everything a stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add the wine and let
it bubble away for about a minute. Reduce the heat to medium–
low, then cover and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, for
15–20 minutes.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a lively boil and season as
salty as the sea. Add the pasta and cook until molto al dente
(see page 89).
Back to the sauce. Increase the heat to medium, arrange
the mussels over the top of the sauce and cover. Cook for
5–10 minutes, until the mussels open. Some might take slightly
longer and if this is the case, remove the opened mussels so
they don’t overcook. Discard any unopened mussels.
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, along with any open
mussels you took out. Give everything a big stir and remove
from the heat, then scatter over the lemon zest and reserved
fennel fronds.
Serve straight from the pan, with bread on the side to mop
up the juice.