Adapted from Caiçara Cooking. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
1-1/2 lbs mussels, debearded and washed
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup canned chopped tomatoes, drained
1/8 tsp mild red pepper flakes
A few drops of hot sauce, to taste
4 oz can roasted green chiles (or 1/2 malagueta pepper, seeded)
1/2 lb mussel meat (without the shells)
1 cup white wine
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups clam broth or vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped mixture of flat-leaf parsley, basil, cilantro, and scallion (equal amounts of each)
Directions
Mussels you buy from a fish market will be fairly clean, but still need to be prepared before you cook them. Wash them in cold water, and pull off the "beards" (strings that come out of the mussel, which is how it attaches itself to rocks, etc.). If any of the mussels do not close, lightly tap them on the side of the sink. If they still don't close, discard them. Set the bowl of cleaned mussels aside.
In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over low-medium heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for a minute or two until the onion is translucent and the garlic is slightly brown (do not overcook).
Add the tomato, red pepper flakes, hot sauce, and green chiles, and stir to combine. Gently mix in the mussels in their shells, and the mussel meat, along with the white wine.
Cover the pan, and cook for five minutes; the mussels should just begin to open. Stir in the rice, and pour in the broth.
With the pan uncovered, raise the heat to medium, and bring the liquid to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to low, keeping the liquid at a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.
Discard any mussels in the shells that did not open.
Stir in the chopped herbs, and serve immediately.