Name: Muscoli Ripieni (Stuffed Mussels)
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 medium onion, sliced; ¾ pound/approximately 350 g peeled tomatoes (canned or fresh); 4 tablespoons/60 ml Ligurian extravirgin olive oil; Milk; 2 cloves garlic, with the green heart removed, minced; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 3 ounces/85 ml/½ glass dry white wine, preferably from the Cinqueterre; Sea salt to taste; 1 small white roll of bread; 3½ ounces/110 g freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; 1 large egg; 1 pinch fresh marjoram; 1 ounce/30 g freshly grated Pecorino; 2 sprigs fresh Italian (flat) parsley; 2 pounds/450 g mussels; 3½ ounces/110 g mortadella, minced; 1 pinch fresh thyme

Preparation info

Makes
4 to 6
servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Recipes from Paradise

By Fred Plotkin

Published 1997

About

While most of Italy calls mussels cozze, in Liguria they are usually referred to as muscoli. This preparation is a specialty of the Cinqueterre; this particular recipe is from the town of Manarola. This dish is an example of how cheese and seafood, usually a difficult pairing, can go well together. You might find it a curiosity that mortadella, a typical meat of the city of Bologna in neighboring Emilia-Romagna, is in this dish. Centuries ago mortadella, prosciutto, and Parmig