Steamed Mussels

Adapted this one from a few youtube videos saw. I had plenty of mussels left over after making the Paella (coming soon!) but nothing to do with them, so I came up with this! Tastes great and is fun to serve and eat in a group!

Ingredients	Quantity	Preparation
Mussels	1 pound	Debearded & Scrubbed
Butter	3 tbs
White Onion	1 small piece	Diced
Garlic	1 tsp	Crushed
Red Peppers	1/2 piece	Diced
Tomato	1 piece medium	Crushed
Sparkling Cider	1/2 cup
Vinegar	1/4 cup
Lemon	1 medium
Parsley	1/4 cup	Chopped
Cumin	1/2 tsp
Curry Powder	1 tsp	Optional

Method:

1. Heat a pot on medium heat that's deep enough so that the closed mussels would only fill it up half way. If you overfill, the mussels will open up and may pop out of the pot!
2. Add the butter. Once it melts, add the onions, garlic and parsley and stir.
3. After 2-3 minutes when the onions start to become translucent, add the cider and increase the heat a bit.
4. Once the mixture starts simmer, add the mussels. Cover and steam for 5-10 minutes, till all the mussels have opened up.
5. Drain and remove the mussels, being careful to save the juice in the pot. Discard any that have not opened after 10 minutes in the pot.
6. Remove and throw the top half of the mussels. Arrange the bottoms in a flat dish that's at least an inch deep.
7. Coming back to the liquid, add curry powder, cumin, red peppers and tomato to the pot and bring to a boil on slow heat. Let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, being careful to not let it dry out.
8. Once the mixture is ready, pour evenly over the mussels in the dish and top with juice of squeezed lemon. You're ready to serve!

Makes ~6 servings, depending on the size of the mussels.

Serving suggestions:

1. Instead of pouring the mixture over the mussels, serve it in a separate bowl. Allow your guests to scoop it up with the mussels!
2. Garnish each mussel with a thin slice of lemon and a bit of parsley to make it look more appealing.
3. Keep a spoon handy to allow your guests to pile on the sauce into the mussels. Some people are finicky with their hands.

Variations:

1. I used sparkling cider as the base for the sauce. You could use dry white wine, apple juice, or even water. Experiment around for different flavors!

Bon Apetite!