Steamed Mussels in a Spicy Broth

Ok, straight talk, this is the actual meal I served on Valentine's Day. There is minimal prep, and very little cook time, but tons of flavor. Plus, since this is a meal you mostly eat with your hands, it stays very light-hearted and casual, which I think is the perfect tone for an intimate evening alone.

Warning: though I do add a bit of spice to many recipes, even I think this one is actually spicy. It tastes amazing, but if you don't like spicy food, don't make this.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

3 cups of vegetable stock
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
¼ cup of white wine*
2 tbsp dried parsley
½ lb of andouille sausage cut into bite size pieces**
2 lbs of live mussels

Directions:

In a stock pot or dutch oven, pour in the stock and add the pepper, garlic, wine, parsley, and sausage. Cover and bring to a boil.

As you bring your broth to a boil, do a thorough inspection of your mussels. Assuming you kept your mussels in the fridge, when you take them out of the cold, they might start to open. This is perfectly fine, you should only worry about mussels that won't close back up. If you tap on an open one and it starts to close, it's good. Alternatively if you hold it closed and it doesn't open back up very much, you're good. If there are any that are cracked, or were open in the fridge, throw them away. Do not cook them.

Once your broth has reached a boil, add the mussels, return the broth to a simmer, and then re-cover. Cook the mussels for 4-5 minutes or until they are open. If there are any that didn't open, throw those away.

Serve your mussels in a bowl with a good helping of broth, a glass of the white wine you used in the broth, and some nice crusty bread to soak up all that deliciousness. I highly recommend serving the crusty bread with my roasted garlic and tomato spread since the tang of the sundried tomatoes goes great with the spicy broth.

*I would recommend a riesling for this recipe. If you want it spicy, use a dry or semi dry variety. Use a semi sweet or sweet riesling if you want it to be less spicy.
*If you want this to be less spicy, or want to make it pescaterian, leave out the sausage, it will still taste great.