There are recipes that belong to a city and others that belong to a family. Pasta, potatoes and mussels manages to be both.
It is the dish that the owner of this Abimis kitchen, a true Neapolitan, most enjoys preparing when friends and relatives gather at his home overlooking the Gulf of Naples.
No special occasion is needed. All it takes is any Sunday, the morning fish market and the desire to cook together.
“The mussels must be absolutely fresh”, he tells us. “My father always said that you can smell the sea even before you open the bag”.
This is precisely where the ritual begins. “I clean the mussels one by one directly on the large stainless steel worktop of the kitchen, beside the sink. A surface I chose specifically for this type of preparation”, he continues.
AISI 304 stainless steel is indeed a perfectly hygienic material; it does not absorb liquids or odours and, once the work is done, it returns to impeccable condition with a simple wipe. “A characteristic that those who cook fish frequently learn to appreciate every day”.
While the mussels slowly open in the sautéed garlic, parsley and chilli pepper, the potatoes are cut with simple, almost automatic gestures, learned by watching his mother in the kitchen as a child.
“She always told me that the cubes must all be the same size because the potatoes need to cook evenly. That way, the dish turns out creamy without needing to do anything else”.
Meanwhile, the ingredients await their turn without losing freshness, thanks to the refrigerator, encased within a utility wall, also in stainless steel with the same finish as the kitchen, positioned opposite the preparation area.
“This way, I can always have mussels, parsley and fresh tomato sauce within easy reach, keeping them at the ideal temperature until I need to use them”.
“I prepare the tomato sauce fresh the day before using ripe San Marzano tomatoes that I pick from my vegetable garden in the countryside” – he confides with pride – “and I leave it to stand in the fridge at the right temperature, which is guaranteed by the cold control system by Abimis”.
“Pasta, potatoes and mussels is not just a recipe”, he concludes. “It is the fragrance of my childhood. Every time I make it, for a few minutes I am transported back to the kitchen of my parents’ home.”
Discover the Ego kitchen by Abimis in Naples belonging to the owner of this home
Ingredients
Serves 4:
250 g of short pasta
400 g of potatoes
800 g of mussels
100 ml of tomato passata
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1 chilli pepper
3 parsley stalks
olive oil, as needed
pepper, as needed
table salt, as needed
How to prepare it
Take the special touch of a spaghetti with mussels, add the advantages of a comfort food like pasta and potatoes and the result will be a first course that has everything it takes to become our favourite.
To prepare the pasta with mussels and potatoes, we must first cook the mussels in sautéed garlic, parsley and chilli pepper.
The aromatics are left whole, as the cooking broth will later be strained and used to infuse the ingredients with rich flavour as they cook. Indeed, the pasta is not boiled in the traditional way but is cooked in the pan together with the potatoes cut into cubes and flavoured with sautéed onion.
The trick to guarantee quick and uniform cooking times is to cut the potatoes into small cubes of a similar size. At that point, first we add the mussel broth, then the tomato passata and the pasta, and finally we cover with water and leave on the heat until we reach our ideal level of cooking. In no time the pasta with potatoes and mussels will be ready to serve.
How to serve it
Pasta and potatoes with mussels should be served immediately, hot and steaming. Dish it up by spooning over the cooking sauce and garnish with a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley, to add a touch of colour.
It is perfect for Sunday lunch, for special occasions or to bring something unique to the table during an ordinary family day.
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