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1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
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2
Clean the mussels.
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3
Inspect each one carefully and discard any that have opened (if some are partly open, tap them with your finger, and if they close back up they are O.K.)
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4
or have cracked shells.
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5
Place in a large bowl, fill the bowl with cold water and rinse several times, swishing the mussels around in the water, pouring out the water and refilling.
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6
Clean the shells, if necessary, with a brush or the end of one of the mussels, and pull out the beards -- the hairy attachments emerging from the shells.
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7
Do not do this until just before cooking, or the mussels will die and spoil.
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8
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the mussels.
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9
Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
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10
Arrange the mussels, pointed ends up, in a single layer in a cast iron skillet and/or a heavy baking dish.
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11
Spoon the marinade left in the bowl over the mussels and place in the preheated oven.
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12
Bake for about 10 minutes, until most of the mussels have opened.
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13
Meanwhile, steam the spinach in a large pot above 1 inch of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes.
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14
Remove from the heat, arrange on a large round platter, and season with a little bit of coarse sea salt and pepper.
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15
Arrange the mussels that have opened on top of the spinach and return the pan to the oven for another 5 minutes.
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16
Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that have not opened.
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17
Arrange all of the mussels on top of the spinach, pour the juices in the pan over the mussels and spinach, sprinkle on the parsley and serve over a bed of steamed spinach, with crusty bread.
