Many people prefer to eat seafood in restaurants, rather than cook it at home. However, many seafood pasta recipes are really not difficult to make and don’t leave your house smelling of fish! This pasta with mussels and tomato sauce alla Tarantina is one such dish. It’s unbelievably tasty, easy to prepare and will definitely impress your guests!
Pasta con cozze alla Tarantina.
When it comes to pasta with shellfish our go-to dish is often linguine with clams (vongole). But, I had some great pasta with mussels and tomato sauce during a trip to Puglia and really wanted to make something similar at home.
Actually, in this case, I didn’t cook this seafood pasta dish, I just requested it! My Sicilian hubby was the chef as he’s the seafood cook a casa nostra! He made this spaghetti with mussels alla Tarantina and it was a perfect meal!
You can even serve mussels alla Tarantina without pasta, as a finger-licking dish with some crusty bread to mop up the spicy tomato sauce!
Mussels from Puglia.
This pasta with mussels recipe comes from the province of Taranto, in Puglia. There mussels, known as Tarantine mussels, have been cultivated for over 1000 years! These mollusks are quite large and have a whitish colour. They are famous for their sweet taste. Today, Taranto apparently has the largest production of farmed Mediterranean mussels in the world.
Tarantine mussels are grown on ropes and nets suspended over poles and wooden structure in the Mar Piccolo (little sea). There, a mixture of fresh water from 34 underground springs mixes with salt water to provide a special marine environment that creates favourable conditions for mussels and other kinds of fish and shellfish.
As you can imagine, mussels are an important ingredient in Apulian seafood dishes and there are some wonderful recipes with them from there. Sadly, I couldn’t find Tarantine mussels. However, the ones we used were very good and very fresh.
And cooking the mussels the Apulian way made for a fabulous plate of pasta, that looked and tasted as good, or even better, as the pasta with mussels I’ve had in restaurants.
Ingredients for spaghetti alla Tarantina.
This pasta with mussels and tomato sauce recipe has very few ingredients. All you need are fresh mussels, chopped fresh parsley, peeled and chopped garlic, tomato passata or peeled tomatoes, peperoncino flakes (red pepper flakes) and white wine. The latter is optional.
How to prepare the fresh mussels.
The most time consuming part of this recipe involves cleaning the mussels.
First, check your mussels one by one. Discard any with cracked or broken shells. If you have any open mussels, give them a gentle tap — if they don’t close within a minute or so, discard them.
Next, place the mussels in a colander or bowl in the sink. Rinse them under plenty of running cold water to remove surface dirt and grit. Use a stiff brush to scrub each mussel to remove any sand, barnacles, or debris stuck to the shell.
Finally, many mussels have a fibrous tuft sticking out from between the shells — this is called the “beard”. To remove it, hold the mussel in one hand and pull the beard firmly towards the hinge end of the shell (not towards the opening) — it may take a good tug. Alternatively, you can use a paring knife to help pull it out.
Step by Step instructions.
1) Place the washed mussels in a large pan and cook them alone over a medium heat until they open and release some liquid.
2) Remove the mussels to a large bowl and filter the remaining liquid through a fine tea towel or piece of cheese cloth into a bowl.
3) Allow the mussels to cool down a little, then discard all the mussels that didn’t open. Keep some mussels in their shells and remove the other mussels from their shells.
4) In a large skillet, sauté the chopped garlic and peperoncino flakes in 3 tablespoon of olive oil, add the shelled mussels. Cook for a minute. If using, add a little white wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate.
5) Next add the mussels in their shells and cook for another minute. Then add the tomato passata, the filtered mussel water, a pinch of salt and a little pepper.
6) Mix everything together and simmer over a low heat for about 5-10 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a good consistency. Add some f the chopped parsley.
7) Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the pan with the mussels and tomato sauce. Mix everything together well.
8) Plate immediately with a little more fresh parsley.
The pasta for mussels alla Tarantina.
We used a thick spaghetti for this dish but you can also use normal spaghetti, spaghetti alla chitarra or linguine. You can also use fresh tomatoes or canned peeled tomatoes instead of passata and fresh or dried peperoncino. If you don’t have fresh parsley, fresh basil is a good substitute.
Alla Tarantina is delicious without pasta too!
There are some different versions of this pasta with mussels alla Tarantina recipe, for example without any mussels in their shells, or without wine. But, I loved having those mussel shells on my plate. And of course if you eat this sauce without pasta, you definitely need to keep most the mussels in their shells, otherwise you’ll have no reason to lick your fingers!
Pin for later.
If you do make this spaghetti with mussels alla Tarantina recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out. Please write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your feedback means a lot to me!
Buon Appetito!
Have a look at my favorite seafood pasta recipes if you’re interested in more delicious pasta recipes!
Other shellfish pasta recipes.
- Sardinian fregola with clams
- Pasta with mussels and black beans
- Linguine alle vongole (with clams)
Spaghetti with mussels and tomato sauce alla Tarantina.
This traditional pasta with mussels alla Tarantina from Puglia in Southern Italy is unbelievably tasty, easy to prepare and needs only a few ingredients. A beautiful special seafood pasta that will definitely impress your guests!
Equipment
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1 large skillet you can wash and use it again after cooking the mussels alone.
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1 large bowl
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1 small bowl for the shelled mussels
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1 sharp knife
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1 chopping board
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1 cheese cloth or fine tea towel
Ingredients
- 2.2 pounds fresh mussels
- 14 ounce spaghetti or linguine
- 12.5 ounces tomato passata or canned peeled tomatoes
- 1.5 teaspoon peperoncino flakes (red chilli pepper) or chopped fresh peperoncino
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
- 2.5 floz white wine optional
- salt for pasta and to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Wash the mussels well. remove all the debris on the shells with a wire brush and remove the beards. Peel and chop the garlic. Wash and chop the parsley.
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Place the cleaned mussels in a deep pan and cook alone on a medium heat until they open. Transfer the mussels to a large bowl to cool. Filter the mussel cooking liquid through a cheese cloth or fine tea towel into a bowl and set aside.
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Once the mussels have cooled down a little, discard all the mussels that didn’t open. Keep some mussels in their shells and remove the other mussels from their shells.
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Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it starts to boil add salt.
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In a large skillet, sauté the chopped garlic, peperoncino flakes and the shelled mussels in 3 tablespoon of olive oil for a minute or two. Then add the rest of the mussels and the white wine if using. Cook for another minute or two mixing everything together.
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Next, add the tomato passata, the mussel cooking water and a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Mix everything together again and simmer over a low to medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a good consistency. Add some of the chopped parsley.
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Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
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When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the pan with the mussels and tomato sauce. Mix everything together well. Plate the pasta and mussels and serve sprinkled with some more chopped parsley.
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Notes
You can make this dish spicier by adding more peperoncino, depending on how spicy you like it!
If you have leftovers, keep them sealed in the fridge for just a day and reheat on the stove top over a low heat.
This recipe is definitely better made with fresh mussels although some people may use frozen ones. However, frozen mussels don’t have the same texture or taste as fresh. So the outcome would probably have less flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 624kcalCarbohydrates: 88gProtein: 30gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 397mgPotassium: 1051mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 758IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 8mg
This recipe was originally published in 2017 but has been updated.
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