Mussels in a Spicy Red Sauce (Fra Diavolo)

Notes

Mussels are inexpensive and delicious. This can be an appetizer or your main meal. You can find them at almost any grocery store, and they are definitely one of the best bang-for-your-buck items around!
Make sure to discard any mussels that are already opened when you are rinsing them.
You can substitute.
Go ahead and leave out the red pepper flakes if you don’t want the sauce to be spicy.
You absolutely cannot have too much bread to soak up the sauce with this dish! Use French or Italian baguette-style bread. I like to slice mine, add olive oil and toast them in the oven before serving.
You can definitely serve this over pasta; it’s delicious.
Feeling fancy? Garnish with lemon halves or wedges.
Serve with empty bowls for the shells.

	8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
	8 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
	28-ounce can tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand
	½ cup white wine, any dry kind will do
	½ teaspoon salt
	1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (depends on how spicy you want your sauce to be)
	2-3 pounds mussels, soaked and scrubbed clean
	¼ fresh parsley, loosely chopped
	Juice from ½ lemon

1.	Rinse mussels under cold water until clean. Discard any mussels that are already open. Place in colander and set aside.
2.	In a Dutch oven or pot big enough to steam your mussels, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
3.	Add garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 minute.
4.	Add crushed tomatoes and white wine.
5.	Stir in salt and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. The sauce should start to slightly thicken.
6.	Lower the heat to medium low (sauce should still be simmering) and add the mussels to the pot. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the mussels are open.
7.	Discard any mussels that didn’t open and transfer the mussels and sauce to a serving bowl. Top off with chopped parsley and lemon juice.
8.	Serve with your favorite bread to soak up all the delicious sauce!