Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Mussels
User Reviews
5
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Mussels
Description
This Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Mussels recipe centers on a slow-cooked tomato sauce enriched with canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, and a medley of vegetables including fennel, onion, carrot, and celery. Seasoned with garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and a touch of sugar, the sauce is cooked until vegetables become tender and flavors meld. Adding mussels towards the end allows them to steam open slowly within the flavorful broth.
The resulting dish features tender mussels nestled in a savory tomato and cream sauce with subtle heat from red pepper flakes and aromatic layers from the vegetables. The creamy addition mellows acidity while enhancing mouthfeel, crafting a comforting seafood entrée.
Serve the mussels directly from the slow cooker with crusty bread to scoop the sauce, making a hearty meal suitable for relaxed occasions. Adjust the cream and tomato quantities to your liking for a thicker or lighter sauce.
Cleaning the mussels thoroughly and removing beards before cooking is important for texture and safety. Discard any mussels that remain closed after cooking. Fennel can be substituted or omitted, with celery, bok choy, or leeks as alternatives according to taste and availability.
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds mussels fresh, depending on the size of your slow cooker
- 1 can (28 oz) canned tomatoes depending on how much sauce you desire to eat with your mussels, I use 2 cans, one 28 oz and one 14 oz, diced, undrained
- ⅓-1 cup heavy cream depending on how much tomato sauce I use or more or less to taste, or whipping cream, 35%
- ½-1 cup dry white wine or red wine
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 1 can (5.5-6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 bulb fennel bulb SEE NOTES, trimmed, cored, thinly sliced or whole celery stalk
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 cup carrot sliced
- 3 ribs celery ribs, sliced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tblsp garlic more or less to taste, minced
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional, more or less to taste, dried
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In your slow cooker add tomatoes, wine, broth, tomato paste, onions, celery, carrots, fennel bulb, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, sugar, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- I always use 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Sometimes one 28 oz and one 14 oz or two 28 oz cans because we are bread scoopers and dippers. We also love this sauce.
- Cook on low for at least 2 hours or on high for 1 hour. Vegetables must be tender.
- When you are ready to prepare your mussels you first you have to clean and scrub them. Next, you must remove their beards. You do this by pulling out the hair-like strands around the shell of each mussel, usually with a knife. If you see any shells that are open, discard them. Discard any that are cracked or not sealed shut.
- Add mussels, cover and cook on high until the mussels open, between 15 and 25 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open. Add cream, stir and serve.
- Any mussels that do not open while cooking may be dead and as the flesh deteriorates, the bacteria that is created can cause severe food poisoning amongst other things. You must discard all of the mussels that did not open up.
Storing your cooked mussels
- After you prepare the mussels, they can be stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 3 days or your freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Clean and scrub mussels thoroughly before cooking, removing beards by pulling with a knife.
- Discard any mussels that are cracked, open before cooking, or that do not open after cooking.
- If fennel is unavailable or unwanted, substitute extra celery, bok choy, white cabbage, onions, or leeks to maintain aromatic texture.
- Adjust the amount of cream added to the tomato sauce depending on desired richness.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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