Mussels Linguini in Harissa and Butter

Servings: 2 – 3

1 lb  Mussels*, bearded**

½ lb Cooked Linguini

¼ cup Butter

2 ½ Tbsp Harissa, recipe below

1 ½ cups Dry White Wine

½ cup Shallots, sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1/3 cup Breadcrumbs

¼ cup Cilantro, torn

In a small bowl combine breadcrumbs, lemon zest and torn cilantro. Set aside

Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add sliced shallot and sauté for 2 minutes. Mix in harissa and add mussels. Toss to coat in butter mixture. Add wine and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, open lid and toss mussels. Cook for another 2 minutes until all the mussels have popped open. Add lemon juice, linguini and season with salt, toss to coat and combine.

Pour into a large bowl and sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture.

Serve with crusty bread for dipping

*At the restaurant we love to use Bar Harbor Mussels because they’re plump and sweet.

**Most mussels at the grocery store are already cleaned. Once the bristly beard is ripped off the mussel begins to die. You always want to cook fresh live mussels because they’ll have the best flavor. If you aren’t going to use the mussels right away, ask your fish monger for ones with the beard on. Cleaning is easy, you just tear off the fuzzy part and rinse under water.