For Thanksgiving dinner one year, I decided to make mussels in a creamy white wine sauce and serve them over spaghetti squash instead of pasta. We already had plenty of meat and heavier food planned for the meal, so I wanted something a little lighter to go alongside everything else. It ended up being such a hit. The mussels were sweet and delicious, the white wine cream sauce was rich without being too heavy, and the spaghetti squash worked really well with it. I used these beautiful New Zealand mussels, which were especially good.
I love using spaghetti squash this way because it doesn’t have a really strong flavour of its own. It picks up whatever you serve with it, so it works with everything from a simple herb and olive oil dressing to a creamy sauce like this one. It’s also a nice option when you want something different from pasta.
I always look for fresh mussels when I make this, and I make sure they’re scrubbed and de-bearded before cooking, but the New Zealand frozen ones are just as good too. I also like using a dry white wine that I’d actually drink. It doesn’t have to be an expensive bottle. If I wouldn’t pour it into a glass, I probably wouldn’t cook with it either.
The sauce comes together in the Thermomix while the mussels steam in the Varoma, which makes this a pretty easy dinner even though it looks like you put a lot more effort into it than you actually did. The wine, garlic, onion, cream and mussel juices all come together to make a really flavourful sauce, and the fresh parsley and lemon at the end brighten everything up.
Ingredients
- 10–15 sprigs fresh parsley, leaves only
- 220 g onion, cut in halves
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ lemon
- 45 g extra virgin olive oil
- 1000 g mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
- 150 g dry white wine
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 100 g heavy cream
- Lemon wedges, for serving
- Cooked spaghetti squash, for serving
Thermomix Instructions
Place the parsley in the Thermomix bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add the onion, garlic and olive oil to the bowl. Chop for 4 seconds on speed 5, then sauté for 8 minutes at 120°C, stir speed.
While the onion and garlic are cooking, scrub and de-beard the mussels if needed and place them in the Varoma dish.
Add the white wine to the mixing bowl, place the Varoma in position and steam for 13 minutes at Varoma temperature, speed 1.
Set the covered Varoma aside. Place the simmering basket on top of the mixing bowl lid instead of the measuring cup and reduce the sauce for 10 minutes at Varoma temperature, speed 1.
Check the mussels and discard any that haven’t opened.
Add the salt, pepper and cream to the mixing bowl and heat for 2 minutes at 90°C, speed 1.
Transfer the mussels to a serving bowl, pour the sauce over top and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve immediately with spaghetti squash and lemon wedges.
I made this for Thanksgiving, but you definitely don’t need a special occasion to make it. It would be just as good for a weekend dinner when you want something a little different. The mussels cook quickly, the sauce has loads of flavour, and the spaghetti squash makes a nice change from the usual pasta.
| Mussels in White Wine Cream Sauce: https://cookidoo.ca/recipes/recipe/en-CA/r150913 |