Mussels & Squid in a Spicy Tomato-Sausage Broth
When it comes to “comfort food” this ranks right up at the top! A pot of rich, flavourful, somewhat spicy broth, hot fennel sausage, mussels, squid and fresh crusty bread. An easy, affordable meal that will warm your heart & soul, while satisfying your hunger and tantalizing your tastebuds!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium red onion finely diced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 hot fennel sausage casing removed, broken into small pieces (or hot Italian sausage)
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1-2 teaspoons hot chili puree
- 1½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup chopped flat leaf Italian parsley plus more for serving
- 2 cans 398 ml/13.5 oz diced tomatoes (or 1 can 796ml/27 oz)
- 1 cup stock homemade, or no salt added, chicken, vegetable or seafood
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 2 pounds fresh mussels scrubbed, de-bearded*
- 3 large squid cleaned, cut into ½-inch rings
For Servings
- Crusty bread ½-inch thick slices
- 1 lemon cut into 8 wedges
Instructions
- Heat a 5 quart pot, pan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat.
- Add the oil, onions & salt, cook 2-3 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high, add the sausage and brown, breaking up the sausage into small pieces. Cook for 3-4 minutes Then add the fennel seeds, crushed red pepper, garlic, hot chili puree and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
- Add the wine, cook for 1-2 minutes scrapping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add tomatoes and chicken stock, bring to boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, add the parsley and corn, cover, then simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Raise the heat to high, add the mussels, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the squid rings, nestle them into the liquid. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes more.
- Discard any mussels that do not open. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Bring the whole pot to the table and let everyone scoop small portions at a time.
- Serve mussels with bread for dipping, lemon wedges and a spoon… because you won’t want to waste a drop of this broth.
- Also, don’t forget a bowl to discard the mussel shells.
Notes
*De-bearding simply means removing the seaweed-like fibers found sticking out of the shell. I pull them off when scrubbing them clean.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!