Greek Mussel Stew

As mentioned below I'm on a mini-crusade to actually fix some of the recipes I've saved over the years and a Greek mussel stew was one of them.  It had a twist that surprised me so I understand why I saved it.  I'm used to cooking mussels in white wine and some aromatics or just in their own juice, but this recipe called for cooking them in rose' wine.

They were steamed in the wine until just opened and then removed from the pan and the resulting broth was strained into a bowl, removing any grit in the process.  Some onions saw time in the pot with olive oil until softened and then in went a clove of garlic, some hot pepper flakes, a pinch of ground allspice, a small tin of diced tomatoes, a small sprig of fresh oregano and the reserved broth.  That was cooked down for about ten minutes to concentrate the flavors.

While the broth was cooking I separated the mussels from their shells and a good handful went into the bowl, while a few stayed in their shells.  When the broth was reduced and thickened just a bit it was ladled over the top of the mussels in the bowl and topped with a few in the shell and a sprig of oregano.  There was no added salt in this recipe as the saltiness of the mussel liquid was more than enough.  A few bread sticks, a glass of the rose' wine and ---- a good time was had by all.

The wine was the 2012 M. Chapoutier Belleruche rose' whose first glass went with the halibut below.  With a fresh nose of crisp, young  fruit and flowers the wine smelled like spring.  Light body to the wine but it had wonderful flavors of strawberries and oranges.  Good stuff.

2012 M Chapoutier Belleruche Rose'.  12.5% alcohol and $10.