Mussels with Ouzo, or is that Orzo?

I just bought 5 lbs of mussels at Costco and ran across this recipe in the Wall Street Journal. I read the recipe and needed just fennel so I thought I would give it a try. I bought the fennel and I was looking forward to serving it over orzo.

My husband came in the kitchen while I was making it and asked me where my ouzo was. I thought why would I need ouzo in my orzo mussels then I re-read the recipe and noticed that it was OUZO and not ORZO. Oh well, I'm not a big ouzo fan anyway.

I used Sauvignon Blanc and homegrown tomatoes which were very sweet. The dish was a little too sweet for me. Maybe, I should have used the ouzo to balance it out.

It did create a nice sauce for the orzo!

Ouzo-Drenched Mussels with Fennel & Tomatoes

(Wall Street Journal)

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

2 Tbs unsalted butter

2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped shallots

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 fennel bulb, cored, halved and thinly sliced, plus 2 Tbs chopped fennel fronds

1/4 tsp chili flakes

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup ouzo

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded

2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Crusty bread, for serving

In a large, lidded pot over low heat, saute garlic in butter and oil until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium, add shallots and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, sliced fennel, chili flakes, thyme and pinches of salt and pepper and saute until vegetables soften, about 3 minutes.

Pour ouzo and wine into pot and simmer until alcohol cooks off, about 5 minutes. Stir in mussels. Quickly cover pot with lid and steam mussels until they open, about 8 minutes. Off heat, toss in parsley and fennel fronds. Gently toss mussels to coat in pan drippings, Serve immediately with good crusty bread.

2014 08 24