Mussels with ‘nduja, fennel and oregano
By:
Pollyanna Coupland
Food producer, delicious.
- Published: 1 Jun 23
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
This is moules mariniere’s spicy sibling! Fiery ‘nduja adds heat to this quick and easy pot of mussels, whilst fennel’s fresh aniseed flavour complements the plump shellfish. An in-your-face bowl of flavour.
Use ‘nduja to liven up a bowl of pasta in this Sicilian lemon pappardelle recipe.
Ingredients
- 60g ‘nduja
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 small fennel (or half a bigger one), finely sliced and fronds reserved
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- ½ red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
- 1kg mussels, cleaned and beards removed
- 125ml dry white wine or sherry
- Finely grated zest 1 lemon
- 3 oregano sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
Method
- Gently heat the ‘nduja in a large saucepan (or a mussel pot, if you have one) until it softens and the bright red oil renders out. Add the fennel seeds, sliced fennel (reserving the fronds to garnish), garlic and chilli (if using) and fry for 5 minutes until softened. Meanwhile, pick through the mussels and discard any that don’t close when firmly tapped.
- Turn the heat up to high, add the wine/sherry and mussels and cover with a lid immediately. Cook for 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Remove the lid, sprinkle over the lemon zest, oregano and fennel fronds and serve immediately. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened.
- Recipe from June 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 299kcals
- Fat
- 13g (3.6g saturated)
- Protein
- 32g
- Carbohydrates
- 9g (1g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.1g
- Salt
- 2.3g
delicious. tips
‘Nduja is a spicy sausage paste from southern Italy, made up from one third pork, one third lard (making it spreadable as well as tasty) and one third fiery Calabrian chillies. It’s now available from most supermarkets or in delis, either in jars or alongside other cured meats.
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Had this for dinner last night, it was delicious! I had to add a bit of water to the ‘nduja as our local stuff in Italy doesn’t ooze much oil out. We both loved it and will definitely eat again it got top marks 10/10