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1.
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Keep mussels refrigerated until ready to use.
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When ready to cook, pick through your mussels to ensure all are tightly closed.
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If any are open, lightly tap the shell against a cutting board and set aside for a few minutes.
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If the open ones do not close up after a bit of tapping and a few minutes of resting, throw them out.
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Do not use them!
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2.
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Place mussels in a colander and rinse under cold water.
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Remove beards and scrub off any barnacles or grit.
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If you can locate cultivated, or rope grown mussels, you probably wont need to do any scrubbing.
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Wild mussels will likely need a bit of gentle scrubbing.
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3.
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While mussels are resting in the colander, heat olive oil in a saute pan (with a lid) over medium heat.
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Add onions and sweat for a minute or two, then add garlic.
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Stir until onions turn translucent.
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4.
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Pour in wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.
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Turn heat up to high and pour in the mussels.
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Immediately put the lid on the pan and gently shake the pan a bit.
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Watch the clock.
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Two to three minutes is all you need.
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The mussels are ready just as you start to see steam escape from the pan.
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5.
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Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove mussels from the pan and place into a covered serving dish.
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Gently sort through mussels and discard any that did not open (they only need to open 1 cm, minimum).
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6.
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Strain cooking juices into a bowl.
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Take the strained liquid and pour back into the saute pan.
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Discard the onion/garlic mixture.
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If a few onions sneak into the juices, thats okay.
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If you like, you can add a few spoonfuls of onions and garlic back to the pan.
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7.
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Turn the heat to medium and simmer the wine for a minute.
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Add the butter and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
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Let reduce for about 5 minutes.
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Add parsley, sea salt and cracked pepper and stir together.
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8.
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Pour liquid over the mussels.
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Serve with crusty bread for dipping into the juice!
