Spaghetti with Mussels and Tomatoes

 Spaghetti with Mussels and Tomatoes

• 2 lbs mussels
• 2fl oz dry white wine
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, very finely sliced
• generous pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1lb cherry tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1lb spaghetti
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• extra-virgin olive oil

Clean and debeard the mussels. Put them into a large saucepan with the wine. Cover and cook over a medium heat for about four minutes or until the mussels have opened, shaking the pan a couple of times. Remove any mussels that haven’t opened.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook until soft but not colored. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and turn the heat up. Sauté until the onions and garlic are pale gold. Now add the tomatoes and cook on a low heat for about five minutes, until the tomatoes are soft. While this is happening cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water in a very large pan (one that will contain the mussels).

Now strain the mussel cooking liquor into the tomato pan. Simmer all this together until the mixture takes on a sauce-like consistency (it should be able to coat the spaghetti) then stir in the parsley. Drain the pasta, put it back in its pan and quickly add the tomatoes and mussels. Toss everything together gently with a slug of olive oil and some salt and pepper (you might not need much – the mussel liquor is quite salty). Serve immediately.