The Foodie Instinct

Baked mussels? Well, maybe a lot of people would tell you that it's easy to cook. I would agree in a more general perspective of just grating cheese over the mussels and popping it in the oven. But I don't think it would taste that good. why? Because as we all know, mussels or shellfish in general have this "malansa" or fishy smell. And if you did not cook or clean it properly, it would definitely taste bad.

Due to the volume of people asking me for this recipe, including my sister, who wants me to cook these for a baby shower she's attending, I decided to post my recipe here in my blog. Well, this is a hard task for me because I am not the measuring type of cook. I just pour and mix together and approximate the ingredients according to my imagination and taste. So bare with me with this recipe.

Well, first and foremost, why baked mussels? Well, a week ago, some colleagues and I went to eat at a seaside restaurant (Dampa in the local term) where you would buy fresh seafood ang ask them to cook it the way you want. We ordered baked mussels and of course, it tasted okay for something seasoned and with cheese on top. Nothing more, nothing special. When I tasted it, it lacked something that tickles the palate and it made me want to cook my own version of it based on my imagination.

So here are the ingredients that I imagined would make the mussels' flavor more palatable and special: (I also put some measurements that I think is approximately what I tossed into the pan.. )

The measurements above are my approximation. If you cook just like me, then theres no need to measure, just prepare the ingredients and just follow these instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a small pan. Melt the butter. Add the minced garlic then after a few minutes, (Do not let the garlic brown) add the minced tomatoes, salt, basil, pepper, paprika and sugar. Mash the mixture while mixing and turn off the heat once the oil turns reddish, the tomatoes are indistinguishable and mixture is paste- in oil-like. Set aside the garlic-tomato paste.

2. Boil water in a pot. Add the salt, garlic and ginger. Add washed mussels and cook for around 15 minutes until all the shells are opened. Do not overcook. Set aside and let the mussels cool.

3. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Celsius.

4. Pour a small amount (around 3 tbsp) of the mussel broth (the water used in boiling the mussels) in the baking pan. Remove the empty half shells of the mussels and line them in the shallow baking pan. Spoon some of the garlic-tomato paste over each of the mussels and make sure that a few drops of the oil is included. Then top each of the mussels with grated cheese.

 5. Pop the pan in the oven and place on medium heat for around 15-20 minutes.

Note: you have two options: You could add the cheese directly into the garlic-tomato paste before putting on top of the mussels or just do the traditional baked mussels look with melted cheese on top. I tried the two versions and they both tasted great. :)

Enjoy!