Linguine with Mussels & Fresh Herbs (Courtesy of the High Line & Chelsea Market)
We live in a great neighborhood! Yesterday afternoon Tim and I took advantage of the newly opened High Line as our means of walking to Chelsea Market. What a civilized way to travel to buy groceries and wine!
Walking on the High Line is particularly rewarding for us because we spent 4 years looking across Gansevoort Street at the construction of the park from both our bedroom and living room windows. So nice to finally enjoy this amazing elevated public space! For those of you who are in NYC and haven’t checked it out, it’s an extraordinary use of urban space. The height provides a unique vantage point from which to take in the new Standard Hotel, the Hudson River, the Meatpacking District, and Chelsea. My only hope is that they allow dogs to walk the High Line at some point.
We descended from the High Line at West 16th Street so that I could pick up some groceries for dinner and Tim could buy a case of assorted Spanish wines from the Chelsea Wine Vault to help “educate” him for our upcoming trip to Northern Spain (in honor of our 5 year wedding anniversary!). Chelsea Market provides a really wonderful shopping experience where you can buy your ingredients from shops that specialize in those items — I bought my fresh herbs at the Manhattan Fruit Exchange, my parmesan cheese at Buon Italia, and my mussels at the Lobster Place.
The recipe I was making — Linguine with Mussels and Fresh Herbs — only required a few ingredients. I planned to buy fresh basil and Italian parsley for the fresh herbs but the basil had been picked over and only a couple of unhealthy bunches were left. I opted for parsley and fresh oregano which were a great combo.
Only other changes to the recipe were that I used 5 cloves of garlic and just over 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
I really loved this dish! So garlicky and delicious. The mussels turned out perfectly and the sauce that they steamed in was delicious on the linguine. You could definitely just serve the mussels with some good dipping bread if you weren’t in the mood for pasta.
A fun shopping experience, followed by a wonderful meal with a nice Spanish Albarino. Great end to the weekend!
Linguine with Mussels and Fresh Herbs
Gourmet
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
2 pounds cultivated mussels, scrubbed
1 pound thin linguine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 cups chopped herbs such as basil, dill, flat-leaf parsley, and oregano
Heat oil and butter in a 5-to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides. Cook garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, stirring, until garlic is softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add mussels and cook, covered, shaking pot occasionally, just until mussels open wide, 5 to 8 minutes. (Discard any that remain unopened after 8 minutes.) Remove from heat and keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook linguine in a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain linguine.
Toss linguine with mussels and any liquid from pot, cheese, and herbs. Thin with reserved cooking water if desired.
