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Fagioli e cozze
Mussels and cannellini beans
Fagioli e cozze: Naples' mussels and cannellini beans in a garlicky tomato and chilli broth
In Naples, fagioli e cozze is the trattoria lunch of late spring and summer, when the mussels from the bay are plump and cheap, and it also turns up on the Christmas Eve table across Campania. Creamy cannellini and sweet mussels share one pan with garlic, chilli and a few cherry tomatoes, so the mussel juices turn the beans into a light, briny stew you mop up with toasted bread. A portion gives about 24 g of protein, from the mussels and the beans, for roughly 330 kcal. The common mistake is salting before the mussels open: their liquor is already salty, so taste only at the end. Before cooking, throw away any mussel with a cracked shell or one that stays open when tapped, and after cooking throw away any that stay shut. Chef's tip: crush a ladle of the beans against the side of the pan before the mussels go in; the starch thickens the broth so it clings to every shell.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb musselslive, scrubbed and beards pulled off
- 1 lb cooked cannellini beans2 tins, drained and rinsed; or 200 g dried, soaked 8–12 hours and simmered for 1 hour until creamy
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlicthinly sliced
- 1 dried red chillicrumbled, or ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 9 oz cherry tomatoeshalved
- ¾ cup water
- ½ oz flat-leaf parsleychopped
- ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
- saltto taste, only at the end
To serve
- 4 slices crusty bread (optional)toasted and rubbed with garlic
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Tip 2 ¼ lb mussels into a bowl of cold water. Discard any with broken shells and any open ones that don't close when you tap them on the worktop. Drain.
Step 2: Warm 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a wide, deep pan over a medium-low heat. Add 3 cloves garlic and 1 dried red chilli and cook gently until the garlic is pale gold and smells sweet, not brown.
2 minStep 3: Add 9 oz cherry tomatoes and cook over a medium heat, pressing them with a spoon, until they collapse into a loose sauce.
5 minStep 4: Stir in 1 lb cooked cannellini beans and ¾ cup water, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Crush a ladleful of beans against the side of the pan to thicken the broth.
5 minStep 5: Turn the heat to high, add the mussels, cover tightly and cook, shaking the pan now and then, until the shells have opened wide.
5 minStep 6: Discard any mussels that stay closed. Season with ½ tsp black pepper, taste the broth and add salt only if it needs it, then scatter over ½ oz flat-leaf parsley.
Step 7: Serve in warm bowls with 4 slices crusty bread for mopping up the broth.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fagioli e cozze take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of dried red chilli?
- ½ tsp chilli flakes per chilli.
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