Peppered Mussels (Impepata di cozze)
Description
Impepata di cozze (Peppered Mussels) is a classic summer seafood dish that can be enjoyed on many occasions. It’s often served as an appetizer during seafood lunches or as a main course in larger portions — but it can also be used to season pasta or add flavor to a creative seafood risotto.
To prepare this delicious recipe, you’ll need a generous amount of fresh mussels. To make the sauce richer and creamier, we suggest cooking them with butter in addition to the traditional olive oil. In our version, we also serve the mussels with fried bread slices soaked in milk — adding a delightful crunchy touch to the dish. Follow our tips to make an impepata di cozze that’s truly irresistible!
Ingredients
to recalculate the ingredient amounts
- Arborea High Quality Fresh Milk 150 ml
- Arborea butter 50 g
- Mussels 2000 g
- Stale bread slices 4
- Eggs 3
- Parsley q.b.
- Red wine 200 ml
- Salt q.b.
- Black pepper q.b.
- Extra virgin olive oil q.b.
Instructions
- 1 Start by thoroughly cleaning the mussels: remove any impurities and the beards using a small knife, and discard any broken or open shells (keep only the closed ones). Once cleaned, rinse them well under plenty of water to remove any residue.
- 2 In a large pot or deep pan, add butter, olive oil, and parsley stems. Using butter along with oil will help create a creamier sauce. Add the cleaned mussels and cook over high heat until all the shells open, keeping the pan covered. Shake the pan occasionally while cooking.
- 3 Meanwhile, prepare the pane indorau (golden fried bread): soak the bread slices for a few minutes in the fresh milk. Then, beat the eggs and dip the soaked slices into the egg mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- 4 In another pan, heat a generous amount of vegetable oil and fry the bread slices one by one until golden brown. Place them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
- 5 By now, the mussels should be fully cooked and open. Place a slice of pane indorau in a bowl, add some mussels on top, and pour a bit of the flavorful sauce from the pan. Garnish with chopped parsley and, if desired, a squeeze of lemon.
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