Name: Steamed Mussels in Sherry-Tomato Broth
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1/2 cup 1% milk; 1 Tbs cornstarch; 1 Tbs butter; 1 cup shallots; 5 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 cup sherry (not cooking sherry! I recommend Taylor brand); 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; 2 teaspoon raw sugar; 1 (8 oz) bottle of clam juice; 1 cup no-salt-added crushed tomatoes; 2 lbs cleaned mussels (I used live PEI mussels)

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These Steamed Mussels in Sherry-Tomato Broth make for an easy, inexpensive dinner or appetizer. A perfect 21 Day Fix Feast of the Seven Fishes recipe for Christmas Eve, too!

Hey guys! How are all the things?? Have you been getting my emails lately? If you haven't signed up yet, now is the time (there's a subscribe box in the side bar to your right)! I finally got my ish together and have it set up so that my new posts will be in your inbox every Sunday so you'll never miss a tasty recipe! Super pumped about that.

Anyway, Christmas is on it's way! Are you ready? I still have a decent amount of shopping to do, but our decorating is done and we've been enjoying our Advent Calendar so much already. If you follow me on Instagram you've probably seen some of my stories about it, so much crazy fun.

Speaking of Christmas, Christmas Eve is also coming and I know some of you will be partaking in the Feast of the Seven Fishes. I'm not Italian and I've never had the opportunity to enjoy said feast, but I'm SO freaking jealous of you guys!! I love seafood of all kinds (though I could probably do without squid - you get me, right?) and can I please eat 7 of them in one night?? Because I'm totally there for that. These steamed mussels in sherry-tomato broth would make such an easy, healthy, beautiful AND damn delicious addition to the big feast. Ya know, in my humble opinion.

Anyway, this dish is a riff on an old favorite of my family's from a restaurant that we used to frequent in Alaska, called Apollo's. We couldn't go there without getting it as our appetizer, it was just so amazing every time, and then you dip the bread into that glorious broth and gah! So good!! But now that we've been away from Apollo's for several months, we've been missing it like crazy, so I thought I'd take at shot at recreating it and I'm SO happy I did!

You guys. This dish is SO delicious and crazy-easy! And that sauce! If you don't serve it with some great bread or put it over pasta, I just don't even know what to tell you. You just must.

Prior to this, I had never bought or cooked mussels before, so I had to stick a pencil behind my ear and do some research! Anyway, my loss of time is your gain, because I'm just going to lay it all out right here so you don't have to go looking for it on the interwebs. Because I love you.

How to Buy Mussels:

Purchase live mussels if you can. I'm lucky enough to have a great seafood counter at my grocery store and can get them there, they sell them in 2 pound bundles and they're super inexpensive. The last time I bought them, they were $6 for 2 lbs.
Buy them no sooner than a day or two before you plan to cook them.
If they're fresh, the shells should be damp and shiny and smell like the ocean.
If you can choose the mussels yourself (and they're not pre-bundled like at my grocer) choose mussels whose shells are closed. If they're not closed, don't despair! They could still be alive, just press their shells together and see if they start to slowly close on their own. If one pops back open and doesn't appear to be closing, don't choose that one.
If you can't find fresh mussels, you can also purchase frozen in a pinch. Of course fresh is always best, but sometimes a girl just has to have mussels, ya know? And btw, I've actually tested this recipe with frozen mussels and it worked really well! I love that you throw them into the liquid straight from frozen and then just add about 5 extra minutes of cook time. Easy!

How to Store Live Mussels:

Store your live mussels in the refrigerator wrapped in a damp towel to keep them damp. I just put them like this on a plate or in a large bowl.
Don't put them in a plastic bag or you'll suffocate them, they need to be in an open container of some kind.
Wait until your near to cooking them to clean them, they'll last longer that way!
Keep for 1-2 days.

How to Clean Mussels:

Put your mussels in a colander and run cold water over them while you're cleaning them, this will help to remove any sand. Be sure not to soak or submerge them in water.
Use a stiff brush to scrub each mussel and remove any barnacles or unwanted whatever.
Remove the beard. That's the weird, hairy thing that's on the outside of the shell. If the mussels were cultivated and not wild, they may not have one, but if they do, just give it a firm pull downward and it should come free. If it doesn't, just cut it away with scissors or a paring knife.
Give 'em one more rinse and they're ready to cook!

Ok, so looking at all of those words makes it look like they're really complicated but I swear, they really aren't! Here's an awesome mussel-y bonus for ya... After much research and a whole lotta math, it turns out that they're SUPER high in protein! Which is freaking awesome. About 10-11 of them give you enough protein for a Red (if you're doing the 21 Day Fix!) and that's only about ⅓ of a red container once you pull them from their shells. Crazy, right?!

I hope you love this recipe! And even if you don't prepare the Feast of the Seven Fishes, this makes a showstopping dinner or appetizer. Don't forget the bread (or pasta!) and wine!

P.S. - Looking for a few more healthy recipes that would be divine for a big ol' seafood feast? This Halibut Fra Diavolo, these gluten free Crab Cakes, and this Dijon Crusted Salmon ought to get you started!

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If you make this 21 Day Fix Steamed Mussels in Sherry-Tomato Broth recipe be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! I love seeing your IG stories! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂

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