Mussels with leeks and chorizo recipe

This Mussels with leeks and chorizo recipe is packed with smoky flavour. The classic pairing of Spanish sausage with seafood is comforting, delicious and easy to prepare. Most fishmongers now sell mussels already cleaned, saving you a lot of time not having to do the scraping and de-bearding.

This recipe works really well with smoked bacon lardons in place of the chorizo or with cider in place of the white wine.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2kg/4lb (8oz) fresh mussels (in their shells)

170g cooking chorizo, diced

1 large leek, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tsp (heaped) tomato purée/paste

400ml white wine

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Crusty bread, to serve

Method

Start off by cleaning the mussels: thoroughly scrub them under cold running water and rinse well. Remove any beards by pulling them toward the large part of the shell. If any of the mussels are open, tap them hard against a work surface and if they don’t close, discard them.

Heat a deep saucepan (large enough to take all of the mussels) over a medium heat and add the chorizo. You won’t need any additional oil in the pan because the chorizo releases so much of its own during cooking. Fry for about five minutes, stirring every so often, until it changes colour to a deep, caramelised red.

Add the leek, garlic and chilli to the pan and cook for a further five minutes before stirring in the tomato purée/paste. Pour the white wine into the pan, season with salt and pepper and then tip in the mussels.

Bring to the boil, cover the pan with a lid and cook for four minutes or until the shells have opened.

Spoon the mussels and plenty of the cooking juice into serving bowls, discarding any that haven’t opened. Scatter over the parsley and serve with plenty of crusty bread.

Recipe courtesy of Healthy Speedy Suppers by Katriona MacGregor © Nourish Books 2016. Photography by Andrew Crowley.