Yaya's Mejillones (Spanish Mussels)

YAYA’S MEJILLONES (Spanish Mussels)😍

Welcome back to my series: Recipes from my Childhood, and today we’re making my Yaya’s mejillones, or mussels. Growing up in Spain, food is such a huge part of our culture. The majority of my childhood memories are either cooking with my grandma, or sharing jokes and stories around the dinner table. 

Every Christmas Eve, we would all gather around a bowl of my grandma’s mussels, throwing in our barquitos, the chunks of bread we called boats because they soaked up the insanely delicious sauce that’s kind of the star of the show here. My grandma was never one to measure, but she taught me how to cook in the best way possible: through instinct and with the purpose of filling the bellies of the people you love. Because food is so much more than the meal in front of you, but the fact that it’s damn good too sure doesn’t hurt ;) 

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

For Yaya’s Mussels:

• 2 lbs mussels, cleaned and scrubbed

• ¼ yellow onion, diced

• ½ guindilla or green pepper, diced

• 6 garlic cloves, sliced

• 1 large roma tomato, chopped

• ½ cup white wine or water

• 1 tsp Spanish spicy smoked paprika**

• 2 bay leaves

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Crusty bread for dipping

**Note: smoke paprika in the states pales in comparison to Spanish smoked paprika. The Spanish version is 10x more flavorful and really makes this dish, so I highly recommend seeking it out if you can! You can find it in Spanish specialty stores or online, search for “Pimenton de la Vera Picante” or find it on Amazon here. FYI - the spicy one is not very spicy, but you can buy the regular one if you are sensitive to spice.

Directions:

For Yaya’s Mejillones/Spanish Mussels:

• Prep all your ingredients: clean and rinse the mussels to get rid of any sand or impurities. Dice the onion, pepper, and tomato and slice the garlic.

• Get a large pot on medium heat and add in the olive oil.

• Add the onions and peppers and season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until the veggies are soft. Add the sliced garlic and toast for 30-60 seconds until soft.

• Add the chopped tomatoes and smoked paprika and toast for 1-2 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. 

• Add the white wine or broth and cook for 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Blend the sauce and return back to the pan.

• Add in the cleaned mussels, stir, and cover, cooking until all mussels have opened, about 6-8 minutes. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened after 10 minutes.

• Serve with crusty bread on the side for dipping and enjoy!