Some of my best memories as a kid, was spending time with my family on the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts! Every year we used to go camping in my parents RV at the same campground, "Coastal Acres Campground" located in Provincetown, first landing place of the Pilgrims. The town is well known for it's diversity and it has been a haven for artists, writers, and lovers of nature! The campground where we had stayed was central to the town, the piers, great fishing, and some of the best spots for harvesting fresh mussels!
As kids, my brother and I would climb down a rocky break wall which lead all the way down to the water. We would look silly with our buckets in hand as we would reach into a crevice to seek out what may be lurking amid the rocks! Occasionally a finger would be pinched by a renegade crab! No matter, we would still always fill our buckets with what we came for, mussels! It was a blast! We would then take our harvested mussels, and my father would drive us all down to the beach in the RV. We would back in and get all set up to eat steamed mussels right on the beach! Those were the days! The thing is, we would obsessively do this year after year!
Here is my own changed up version to a recipe my mother used to make!
Ingredients
4 pounds mussels
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup Prosciutto (thick sliced), and cut into ¼” dice
1 medium vidalia onion, sliced in half then into thin half round slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1 lemon, (reserve zest) and juiced
fresh ground pepper
2 medium heirloom tomatoes (for color), peeled, seeded and cut in large dice
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
½ cup roughly chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
Rinse the mussels under cold running water while scrubbing with a vegetable brush. Discard any with broken shells. Heat oil and butter in a 6 to 8-quart stockpot. Sauté the Prosciutto, onion, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes to create a base flavor. Add the mussels and give them a good toss. Add wine, lemon juice, and season with some fresh ground pepper; cover the pot and steam over medium-high for 5 minutes until the mussels open. Toss in the tomatoes, capers, parsley, reserved lemon zest and butter, recover the pot, and steam for another minute to soften. The tomatoes should keep their bright colors and their shape. Serve with plenty of Italian bread to sop up the broth.
