There’s a case to be made for making this as the recipe suggests, with actual live mussels in the shell. It’s more work, but the oceanic flavor of the fresh mussels adds an undeniable complexity to the pasta. On the other hand, fresh mussels need to be used pretty quickly after purchase and it’s a pain to remove them from their shells. For that reason, I often use fancy tinned mussels (the smoked ones are great) available now at many supermarkets.

This makes enough for two people as a main, four as a starter. Or: 200 g of dried pasta as indicated. It comes together quickly. I usually don’t start making the sauce until the water for the pasta is boiling and the noodles are in. It’s that quick.

On dried pasta

I take issue with anyone who claims dried pasta is intrinsically worse than fresh pasta. One isn’t better than the other: they’re different. Fresh pasta is usually made with egg and soft wheat flour, which makes it incredibly soft. Think of a great lasagna with paper-thin noodles that almost melt. Dried pasta is made with hard wheat and water, no egg. It has more bite, giving a dish some nice texture. Not to mention, it’s a lot easier to store for long periods.

All dried pasta is not equal, however. The best stuff is dried slowly and extruded from coarse bronze dies. The slow drying gives it extra flavor. The bronze extrusion gives the surface of the pasta an almost sandpaper-like texture that helps it cling on to sauces better.

Here in the US, De Cecco is a good choice that’s easy to find. Brailla recently launched their new “Collezione” line that’s also great. If you can find them, Rustichella d’Abruzzo, Monograno, and Afeltra are all even better if you’re doing something special.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 red chili
  • 100 mL dry white wine
  • 500 g fresh mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
  • 200 g dried linguine, cooked according to package directions
  • Handful parsley, roughly chopped
  • Lemon wedges

Method

Halve the chili. De-seed one half and roughly chop it. Optionally, remove the seeds from the other half, but leave it whole.

Heat a generous film of olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. When the oil is warm — it should be less viscous than at room temperature but not to hot as to be shimmering — add the whole garlic and whole half of the chili. Allow those to infuse for several minutes until the garlic is lightly golden.

Add the chopped chili and sliced garlic, cooking them briefly until the garlic scent intensifies. Then add the wine and allow it to reduce to the point it no longer smells of alcohol. Then add the mussels, cover the pan, and shake the pan to more evenly heat the mussels.

When most of the mussels are open, increase the heat to high, remove the lid, and add pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce slightly. Add the cooked linguine and toss the mixture to coat the noodles.

Finish with extra olive oil, parsley, and serve the pasta immediately with lemon wedges.