[Mussels with tomato sauce] Mussels in "R" months & Easy homemade tomato sauce for all purpose

Mr. D and I eat mussels as soon as the nineth month of the year starts.

We love mussels. I'd like to cook it in italian style and also in belgian style.

Also I love throw in abundant mussels in my Valencia style paella.

Probably you already heard about it, but I find it's very interesting.

Mussels in "R" months are of better qualities,

i.e. in JanuaRy, FebRuaRy, maRch, apRil, septembeR, octobeR, novembeR, decembeR

We still eat mussels in warmer months too, but we eat defintely more in "R" months :)

Mussels are excellent source of protein, vitamin B12, zinc, with low fat.

And they are very much affordable, unlike oysters :)

This mussels with tomato sauce are very easy to cook and perfect to share with your entire table.

Oh, I always make tomato sauce, of which recipe I'm going to post now.

By all means, if you want to use a store bought tomato sauce, go ahead. It's okay to use a ready made one.

However, making your own tomato is really easy.

As we consume lots of tomato sauce,

I make tomato sauce in the night while I do something else such as writing in the blog :) so that tomato sauce will simmer for a good half hour to an hour.

You can let it simmer as short as 15 minutes, but I usually leave it on the heat for a while to make it saucy and thicker.

Tomato sauce recipe will follow the mussels recipe.

Ingredients

3 lb. fresh mussels,
 1 cup tomato sauce,
1/2 cup dry white wine

(please don't use a sweet white wine. That will ruin your sauce)



2-3 peperoncini(italian chili) - Optional

Parseley, chopped - Optional

How to make:

First, choose good quality mussels that have been kept on crushed ice.

Wash them and clean the so called "beards" if there is any.



In a large skillet heat the tomato sauce at high temperature. 
Bring to boil, and pour white wine in and let some alcohol evaporates.



Add a couple of peperoncini, crushed

Add washed clean mussels and mix them with sauce before covering the skillet. 
Shake it time to time so that mussels can be opened easily.
Cook for a few more minutes. 



Discard the mussels that are unopened.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you wish.



Enjoy mussels AND sauce. 



You will love this sauce. Try to dip a piece of sauce~ You will soon find your bowl of mussels completely empty.



You can use an empty mussel shell as a fork :)




Now, I'll share my secretly easy tomato sauce recipe :)


Tomato sauce




Ingredients
(Yields 5-6 cups)
2-3 tablespoons of  olive oil
2-3 clove garlic, sliced
2 28-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
Assorted herbs such as basil, thyme, and oregano
(As tomato cans are already salty you don't need extra salt)


How to make



1. Heat the oil over medium. Saute the garlic until golden. 



2. Add the tomatoes and add prepared herbs.
Raise the heat to bring to boil.



Once boiled, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer it as short as 15 minutes or as long as 60 minutes to have a thicker sauce.


I like somewhat sourness of tomato sauce. 
If you don't like an acidic taste, add some sugar by tablespoon and taste.


Tara~ You now have a delicious homemade tomato sauce.


You can first use this sauce to make your mussels with tomato sauce :)


Have a good night.




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