Apulian “arraganate” mussels

Mussels are a widely used ingredient in typical Apulian cuisine: they are used in first courses, tasty second courses or even in rich appetizers. An example of an appetizer (or second course) in which they are used are Apulian arraganate mussels (i.e. gratinated), a dish that throughout Puglia is made with small variations but in any case always very appreciated. In Salento this dish is called “cozze racanate”.

For the arraganate mussels recipe, in addition to the mussels (which must be opened raw) a few simple ingredients are needed for a highly effective and easy to prepare appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of mussels
• 2 eggs
• 100 g of grated pecorino
• 200 g of breadcrumbs (or crumbled stale bread)
• a sprig of parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• white wine to taste
• extra virgin olive oil to taste
• pepper as needed.

Method:

1. First, wash the mussels carefully under running water and clean them, then open them in half with a knife and remove the upper shell.
2. Place all the mussels on a baking tray, one next to the other, and sprinkle a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.
3. Separately, beat the egg with the pecorino, pepper and parsley and pour it over the mussels.
4. Before baking, sprinkle the breadcrumbs, more garlic and the oil over the mussels.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 200° and, halfway through cooking, deglaze with a little white wine.
6. You will realize that the dish is ready when the mussels have taken on a nice golden colour.

Variations of arraganate mussels

For an even richer variant of arraganate mussels, you can also add tomato puree.

The ingredients for this variant are:

• 2 kg of mussels
• 150 g of breadcrumbs
• 1/2 glass of white wine
• a sprig of parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• a teaspoon of oregano
• three tablespoons of tomato puree
• extra virgin olive oil to taste
• Salt to taste.
• pepper as needed.

Method:

1. First, wash the mussels carefully under running water and open them raw.
2. Pour two tablespoons of salted water into a pan, then place a layer of mussels.
3. Separately, prepare the tomato puree by adding the breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, oregano, oil, salt and pepper.
4. Pour this mixture over the mussels, then sprinkle a drizzle of oil.
5. Cook in a hot oven at 200° for 10-15 minutes and halfway through cooking, deglaze with white wine.

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