Odessa mussels
Cuisine: Odessa
Author: Maria Kalenska
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 45 mins


Ingredients
  • 3 kg large Black Sea mussels in shells
  • 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 3 shallots, finely chopped
  • 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
  • 3 bell peppers, peeled and sliced
  • 400 ml white wine, e.g. Sukholimanske Kolonist
  • 1 lemon, cut into large slices
  • 400 g sheep cheese
  • 1 medium bunch of parsley, finely chopped
  • 6 tbsp sunflower oil
  • freshly ground black pepper
Cooking method
  1. If the mussels are just collected and not cleaned yet for cooking, then remove any gnarls and rip away the ‘beard’ (water plant).
  2. Heat oil in a large frying pan or cauldron. Fry the onion, add bell pepper. Simmer until pepper is tender.
  3. Add mussels and wine. Cover and wait until the mussels begin to open. Then add garlic, tomatoes and stir.
  4. Crumble the cheese with your hands and add to the mussels. Stir and cover. When the cheese becomes soft (attention, don’t let it melt completely), remove the lid, add parsley and black pepper. Serve the mussels with lemon slices.
My tips and tricks
Serve the mussels right in the cauldron so that they don’t cool down for as long as possible. And in any case, don’t pour out the mussel sauce - it’s delicious. It can be eaten as a ‘soup’ with bread, or try it the way they eat in Odessa: drink it, scooping with mussel shells straight from the cauldron.

Maria Kalenska Gastronomy Blog | http://www.myodessacuisine.com/recipes/odessa-mussels/