Spaghetti tarantina

Simple but very tasty, spaghetti alla tarantina is a perfect first course to savor the intense flavor of mussels.

Among the fish first courses there is one (perhaps even more than one) capable of making both those who prepare it and those who enjoy it agree. We are talking about spaghetti tarantina, prepared with cherry tomatoes and mussels and perfect for a spaghetti dinner with friends or family .

It must be said that there is no single recipe for this typical Apulian dish. Some prepare it plain , only with mussels, garlic and chilli, others add cherry tomatoes and still others add tomato puree. We have chosen a middle ground but know that you can easily omit the cherry tomatoes if you prefer to enjoy the flavor of the mussels in their purity.

How to prepare the spaghetti alla tarantina recipe

1. First clean the mussels by removing the byssus and scraping the shell with a scourer. Then rinse them under running water and place them in a pan with a drizzle of oil.
2. Cover with the lid and leave for 5 minutes , until they open. Those that do not open during this period of time will be thrown away.
3. Transfer the mussels to a bowl, shelling almost all of them. Keep just a dozen for the final decoration of the dish.
4. Filter the mussel water and keep it aside.
5. In the same pan, heat the oil and add the garlic and chilli. Once browned, add the cherry tomatoes cut into quarters and the liquid from the mussels and leave for about ten minutes. Finally add the cleaned mussels.
6. Boil the spaghetti in plenty of not-too-salted water. Once ready, drain them and sauté them in the pan with the seasoning, completing with the whole mussels and a generous sprinkling of fresh chopped parsley.

Let's stay in Puglia to discover another recipe with mussels that deserves to be tried. We're talking about mussel peppers !

storage

Spaghetti alla tarantina can be kept in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2 days . Reheat them in a pan with a drizzle of oil before consuming them.