Best Mussels With Fennel And Italian Beer Recipes

Mussels with Chorizo and Fennel image

Provided by Michele Ragussis, Food Network Star Season 8 Finalist

Time 35m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 13

2 tablespoons Portuguese olive oil, or extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced Portuguese or Spanish chorizo
2 celery stalks, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
25 mussels, cleaned well
1/2 cup clam juice
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 loaf crusty bread, for serving

Steps:

Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and chorizo and saute for about 2 minutes. Then the celery, garlic, tomatoes, fennel and onions, and saute until tender but not too soft, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the mussels, and saute again until the mussels start to pop open. Add the clam juice and wine and cover the skillet. Steam the mussels until they open, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove any mussels that didn't open, and transfer the rest from the skillet to a serving bowl(s), leaving the liquid behind. Add the butter and simmer until the liquid reduces a bit, about 2 minutes.
Pour the liquid over the mussels and serve with a delightful crusty bread.

Steamed Mussels With Fennel and Tarragon Recipe image

Yield Serves 2

Number Of Ingredients 10

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Kosher salt
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1 cup Italian beer
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
Toasted slices of country-style bread (for serving)

Steps:

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium-high. Add fennel and shallots and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add mussels and stir gently once or twice to coat with oil. Pour in beer and stir once more to coat. Cover pot and steam mussels, stirring halfway through, until they open, about 3 minutes. (Discard any mussels that do not open.) Add butter to pot and mix until butter is melted into pan sauce and mussels are coated.
Transfer mussels and sauce to a serving bowl and top with tarragon. Serve with bread alongside for dipping.

Mussels with Cream, Fennel, and White Wine image

Yield Makes 6 first-course servings

Number Of Ingredients 8

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb
2 shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded

Steps:

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped fennel, shallots, garlic and fennel seeds. Sauté until fennel is tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cream and boil until liquid thickens, about 10 minutes. Add mussels. Cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Divide mussels among 6 shallow bowls (discard any mussels that do not open). Ladle broth over and serve.