BOB LUHMANN: In praise of mussels - theberkshireedge.com
It all started when I happened across a package of steamed, peeled, and ready-to-eat fava beans in the packaged produce section of the supermarket. The fava beans are from Melissa's, a reputable company I'd happily used before, which sells vacuum-packed, somewhat-fussy-to-prepare vegetables such as baby beets, edamame, and black-eyed peas. My experience with their products had been positive, as they produce quality convenient vegetables for a quick meal. I'd never seen Melissa's fava beans before, though, so in my cart they went.
For some people, the only time they've even heard of fava beans is in the movie "Silence of the Lambs." In the film, Anthony Hopkins plays Dr. Hannibal Lecter, whose infamous line when referring to a census taker whom he slaughtered, is "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." I always thought that was an oddly specific combination. It turns out that line was not only horrifying, but an inside medical joke.
As you may remember, Lecter was not only a jailed cannibalistic serial killer, but also a psychiatrist who would be well aware of food and drug interactions. Patients using the particular drug (containing monoamine oxidase inhibitors) used to treat his gruesome predilection were restricted from consuming fava beans, liver, and wine due to their adverse interaction with the drug. It was his way of not only shocking a young FBI trainee (played by Jodie Foster), who was attempting to enlist him in solving another serial killing spree, but also of obliquely boasting he hadn't been taking the meds used for his treatment. I found it an interesting little factoid I had to share early in this piece, before finishing with a pasta recipe consisting of mussels, tomatoes, and fava beans — with no human body parts.
Of all the foods I love, I probably love seafood the most. Mussels are a particular favorite for a variety of reasons, not least of which is cost. So much fresh fish is expensive now due to too many boats fishing for fewer fish. Cultivated blue mussels are cheap compared to any other seafood, or most other protein-rich foods, for that matter. I recently bought about a pound of live mussels (approximately 18) selling for $3.99 a pound, which is all I needed as the star of the show in the recipe for two I'll be sharing. Besides being inexpensive, delicious, and versatile, they are one of the very few protein-rich foods which are truly sustainably raised and, it could even be argued, are a net plus for the environment.
Blue mussels found at seafood counters in the Northeast are almost entirely cultivated. What that means is that they spend the vast majority of their lives attached to ropes hanging from long poles drilled into the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. They attach themselves by hair-like protein threads, referred to as a mussel's "beard," which are obnoxious if not removed before cooking. This rope method has several benefits. It produces clean mussels without the grit and sand of mussels growing on the ocean floor, and not being on the ocean floor keeps them from starfish and crabs, their primary predators. Finally, this method of aquaculture has almost no environmental impact compared to harvesting mussels by commercial methods, which destroys marine habitat and causes other marine creatures to become collateral damage.
Mussels are filter-feeders who help keep the ocean clean by eating algae, bacteria, and other small, organic particles from ocean water. Because of this, mussel aquaculture is zero-input, meaning cultivated mussels don't need any feed or fertilizer, unlike in fish and shrimp aquaculture. Farm-raised salmon, for instance, are densely concentrated in offshore pens that wreak havoc on the surrounding marine ecosystems mainly through the pollution produced by their waste and uneaten fish meal. In addition, for every pound of farm-raised salmon, it takes 2-3 pounds of fish chow made from rapidly depleting fish stocks such as sardines, mackerel, and herring. If interested, I highly recommend reading "Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food" by Paul Greenberg for a deeper "dive" into the backstory of farm-raised seafood and the depletion of wild seafood stock caused by overfishing. I know I've been much more conscious of the seafood I buy after reading his book.
So, besides rope-grown blue mussels being a delicious, inexpensive, sustainable seafood, how about the nutrition it provides? According to WebMD, they provide an "impressive nutritional profile." They're rated an excellent source of protein as well as being superior to the protein found in fish with fins. They're also rated an excellent source of iron, needed in the prevention of anemia, and are high in vitamin B12, needed to produce red blood cells. Finally, mussels are a low-fat, low-carbohydrate food, producing 146 calories from a steamed three-ounce portion.
For the food nazis among you, my recipe does add carbs and fat, in this case with pasta and extra virgin olive oil, but it's only two ounces of dried pasta and about two tablespoons of olive oil per serving, which has its own health benefits. Remember, too, I'm a chef who loves real, whole foods and taste is my primary concern. I've been known to virtually roll in food I love like a dog.
Without breaking down the entire recipe nutritionally, legumes such as fava and cannellini beans are one of the most nutrient-dense foods around. They're unique among plant foods due to their high protein content and are somewhat comparable to mussels, nutritionally, with the added benefit of being a high-fiber food.
I'd file this recipe under "Quick, Easy, Happy Food." It's tasty, healthy, satisfying, and can be put together from start to finish in about 30 minutes once all the ingredients are gathered. When sharing my recipes, I measure as I go, which is certainly not the way I normally cook. I write these recipes encouraging you to do with what you will, hoping it inspires you to make tasty, real food at home. Make this recipe exactly as written to begin with or experiment. I can guarantee, I won't make this dish exactly the same the next time I make it.
As far as Melissa's fava beans are concerned, I found them disappointing — mushy, and because they're packed with ascorbic acid (the form of vitamin C found naturally in food), they need a good amount of rinsing to rid them of their sharp acidic taste. In the end, I like this quick recipe better with quality, canned cannellini beans. I've prepared fava beans from the fresh pods before, and as much as I like them, they're fussy to prepare. They need to be stripped from the pod, blanched, and individually peeled of their skin, which takes some time to master and can add another 20 minutes to the recipe. In case you're wondering, dried favas are nothing like fresh. Have at fussing with fresh fava bean pods, though, if you're so inclined and not being treated for cannibalism.
Pasta with Mussels, Cannellini Beans, and Cherry Tomatoes
Serves 2
Having just passed the summer solstice, the most readily available local tomatoes are usually of the miniature varieties. I found an excellent pint of local cherry tomatoes recently and used half of them in this dish. I used dried tagliatelle for the pasta, but use whatever quality pasta you like. Make sure you smell the mussels before purchasing; they should smell as clean as an ocean breeze.
I made this dish previously using cannellini beans, but used the entire can since I thought the other half of the can was a prime candidate for getting lost in the fridge. It was too many beans for me. Melissa's fava beans equaled about a half can of beans, which was another impetus to use them. I now believe I could use half a can of cannellinis easily, as soup weather is fast approaching … as long as I remember they're there.
Having been a restaurant chef who refused to serve tartar sauce with lobster or ketchup with a steak, I possess a number of grievances about the use of ingredients. What comes to mind in this case is that grated cheese should not be an automatic addition to pasta. I love cheese, but when it comes to a seafood pasta dish, it cloaks the sparkling fresh flavor of the seafood. As the Soup Nazi would say if you requested cheese with your seafood pasta: "No pasta for you!"
A simple green salad is an excellent accompaniment.
Ingredients
Approximately 1 lb mussels
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
½ pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ can cannellini beans (about 8 ounces), rinsed
Handful fresh herbs (I used mostly parsley with some basil and chives), coarsely chopped
Method
Soak the mussels in cold, salted water for about 10 minutes, discard any whose shells don't close, and remove their "beards." In a pan (with a cover) large enough to mix all the ingredients (I use a 12-inch, high-sided skillet), heat the olive oil over medium heat (which will be the heat continuous through the cooking process) and add the garlic.
In a pot which holds at least 12 cups, put on salted water to boil for the pasta. When the garlic begins smelling fragrant, but before browning, add the red pepper flakes, wine, and cleaned mussels. Cover the pan and allow to cook until all the mussels have opened.
With a slotted spoon, remove the mussels and begin reducing the liquid in the uncovered pan. As the liquid reduces and you've begun boiling the pasta, remove the mussel meats from their shells. I cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the directions indicate for al dente, however, about a minute before draining I take out about two cups of pasta water to finish cooking the dish in the skillet. Drain the pasta, but don't rinse.
When the reducing liquid begins to sizzle, add the pasta, cherry tomatoes, and beans. Add about a cup of the reserved pasta water (it contains starch from the pasta and gives the dish body) and stir, adding more of the reserved pasta water as needed. Continue to stir until the tomatoes begin to soften. Stir in the herbs off the heat to maintain their freshness and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Serve in wide bowls and please don't sneak in grated cheese!
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