This recipe has so many ways to make it your own. What we have here is a base to which you can add whatever else you like, substitute ingredients you have on hand, or just make the base and be thrilled at how easy it is. I added some scallops and shrimp to this because I love them, but you don’t have to. Let’s get into it:

*A note on mussels: get them from a reputable source. Make sure they’re packed on ice, that the bag they’re in is kept OPEN, and you use them that day.

The Recipe:

• 1 pound mussels (will be dinner for one very hungry person or lunch for two)
• 4 strips thick cut peppered bacon
• 1 large shallot, sliced or chopped
• 2 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/4t crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup white wine (use wine you like so you can drink while you eat..and cook)
• Garlic bread for serving (optional but strongly suggested)

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Cook that bacon until it’s nice and crispy and delicious (even if you don’t like crispy bacon, make it crispy. It will go in the sauce and get softer). Remove the bacon and drain some, but not all, of the fat.

Add some olive oil and cook the shallot and tomatoes for 3-4 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Add the wine, a little salt and a bunch of black pepper, and scrape all the little bits from the bottom of the pan to create a lovely sauce. Add the mussels, stir them around in the sauce, and cover with a lid. Cook 3-5 minutes until the shells open. Once they open you’re done! (If you come across a mussel that isn’t open while eating, don’t eat that one.)

Get the bacon back in there and serve it up (preferably with bread to soak up all that lovely sauce).

If you want to cook shrimp and scallops with this: cook the bacon and remove, cook the shrimp and scallops and remove, then add the shallot and tomatoes and continue with the recipe.