Many Italian Americans have a Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. Our family over the past several years has been having this feast whether our day together falls on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Fish is something special that we don’t get to eat every day or even every week so Christmas being a day to celebrate something as awesome as Jesus’ birth is the perfect time to enjoy an extraordinary meal together. Our feasts are anything but traditional and have even been modernized to include such things as sushi and raw oysters. There are no rules here – you don’t even have to have exactly seven fishes and in fact we love to enjoy more like ten or eleven; the more the better. One of my favorite classics is steamed mussels in broth. It’s always a pleaser!
Mussels are also relatively inexpensive so you can afford feed a crowd without a large budget. My friends know that I love to save money whenever I can because it increases our ability to donate to the less fortunate, especially at Christmastime. We like to purchase gifts for our local parish that support members of our community who are in need and we also regularly contribute food to soup kitchens. We like to seize as many opportunities to give back whenever possible.
This recipe is quick and easy which is important on Christmas, especially when you have six or more fishes to make for your meal! If you have seen my recipes before, you know that I like to keep things simple anyway. If something is easy to get from the fridge to the table, I am more likely to make it again and again. The first step is to check your mussels. Make sure none are cracked or open and discard any that are. I was in a pinch and did not shop at my usual fish market and as you can see many of mine were duds. Lesson learned! Rinse and remove any beards.
- 4 pounds fresh mussels, cleaned
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup Swanson® Chicken Broth
- Juice from one lemon
- 1 cup roughly chopped parsley
- Fresh Italian bread
- Rinse and clean mussels, discarding any open or cracked shells
- Heat oil in a large saucepan and sauté garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add mussels along with broth, wine and lemon juice.
- Cover and steam for about 5 minutes until mussels are fully cooked and open.
- Mix in parsley.
- Serve with fresh Italian bread.
This looked tasty and delicious though I’m not really eating a lot of mussels but if it will taste good then why not?
I’ve read this review on the mussels,do they taste anything like clams? Because I love clams with browned butter. And was wondering if they taste any thing like them? Ty John.
They are definitely less chewy and more tender than clams. You must try!
I love mussels but I like them in a light tomato garlic sauce (Spanish tapas) soak up the sauce with thin slices of baguette bread…
I love them either way!
I typically use recipes as just a general guideline and then customize. However, this one looks just perfect!! Thank you.
Thank you so much! I hope you love it!
I love mussels! the Broth sounds really tasty as well. Ill definitely add this to my list of recipes to try
I have never had mussles but I have always wanted to try! Thus makes me even more eager to try.
I hope you love the recipe as much as we do :)
I LOVE steamed mussels! We usually do a white wine sauce, but the lemon garlic sounds so good too!
Me too! This recipe has wine in it also :)
I’ve never had mussels and don’t do seafood, but I know my dad would probably love this. I’m gonna send your post link to him to try out!
I hope the loves it!
I love seafood but mussels are not one of my favorite. However, a friend of mine love this!
I love them so much! You could easily do this recipe with another shellfish :)
I’ve never eaten mussels. However, the lemony garlic broth sounds delicious. I might just give this a try.
You have to try them. They are my fave!!