Mussels with Fennel & Chorizo

Ingredients:
2 lb fresh mussels, cleaned
1/2 lb fennel, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 small onion, diced
1 cup Belgian beer
1/2 cup diced Spanish-style chorizo
1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot with a lid. Saute the onions, fennel and chorizo until the fennel is almost tender. Add the beer and cook for another minute or so. Give it a taste and if it is too bitter, add 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar and stir. Add the mussels, cover and shake until they are all opened. Serve immediately.

My thoughts:

Mussels are so simple to make it is a wonder we don’t eat them everyday. We made this at about 11:30 at night with our eyes half open and it was still delicious. The sweet fennel and the spicy, salty chorizo were a perfect combination to complement the juicy mussels. Use an empty mussel shell to liberate the mussels and eat the chorizo and fennel. Yum.

Note: Please don’t steam any mussels that are open and if any do not open after steaming, don’t eat them either.

15 Comments

  1. The first time I made mussels, just a few weeks ago, I was also SHOCKED at how delicious they turned out. Though I still feel like restaurant-style mussels have a much better liquid-mussel ratio (lots and lots of tasty sauce for dipping!). Gotta keep trying! Yours look great!

  2. Phoenixvillian

    Sounds like an awesome combination of flavors. I'm tagging this in my "to make" bin.

  3. I love mussels, never thought of adding chorizo into them.
    Looks so yumm.

  4. You have a mighty fine flavor combo working here. Would Portuguese chorizo work as well?

  5. Jen-
    I don't see why not.

  6. Sounds awesome! Easy and delicious… perfect!

  7. Mouthwatering! flavors chorizo, mussels, Grand combination!

    Thanks for sharing your recipe~

    Welcome~~~
    foodcreate.com

  8. I love mussels! Too bad I have to make special trips, it seems, to purchase them. (I'm in land-locked Dallas, and they're not at every grocery.) This sounds so tasty and easy, though, that I might just make that special trip!

  9. This looks delicious! My hubby and i had the best mussels (they are known for them) at Dr. Granville Moores in DC…I don't think I realized how much I liked them until then. This recipe sounds great! What kind of Belgium beer did you use?

  10. LoveFest, Honestly, I don't remember. It was late at night and we don't have any more!

  11. Fabulous photo! And a great combination- love mussels, have them all the time but never thought to add chorizo.

  12. Great recipe! Fantastic combination chorizo and mussels.

  13. I never made mussels at home…always afraid of the "smell", but this recipe that you feature look so good, with all the spices and chorizo…must be really good. Nice picture!

  14. Juliana-
    I don't find that there is much of a smell with fresh mussels.

  15. oh, YUM.
    Mussels are one of my favorite things to eat at this time of the year… and fennel is always great paired with them.

    Am thinking the smoked sausage was nice here, no?