RECIPE: Make Valenza’s Cozze
We love the mussels at Valenza in Brookhaven and would love to get the recipe. Thanks! — Andrea Burch, Brookhaven
Matt Swickerath, executive chef for Valenza and its sister restaurant Vero, was happy to share this recipe for mussel soup. It’s offered as one of the antipasti options and listed as “Cozze” on the menu. Similar dishes are often called Zuppa di Cozze. It’s a Neapolitan classic and quickly prepared.
Swickerath suggests that readers use sun-dried tomatoes packed in extra-virgin olive oil as a substitute for the oven-dried tomatoes they make at the restaurant. To prepare roasted garlic, heat the oven to 350 degrees and wrap one or more heads of garlic in foil. Bake until the garlic is soft, about one hour. Cool the garlic and separate the cloves, removing each from its peel. Roasted garlic will keep in the refrigerator for about one month. Cover it with olive oil before storing.
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon diced fennel bulb
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon diced shallot
- 1 pound Prince Edward Island mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
- 2 cloves roasted garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped oven-dried tomatoes
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/4 ounce sambuca
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon thinly sliced basil
- Grilled or toasted ciabatta, for serving
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. After 10 seconds, add the fennel, sliced garlic and shallot. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until fennel begins to turn translucent. Add mussels and cover with a lid. Allow to sit on heat for 2 minutes. Uncover and stir mussels, which should begin opening. Add roasted garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Stir, then add wine and sambuca. Cover skillet and cook 3 minutes. Uncover and stir again. All mussels should be open. Discard any that have not opened. Stir in the butter, parsley and basil. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with ciabatta. Serves 2.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 399 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 28 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 19 grams total fat (8 grams saturated), 94 milligrams cholesterol, 662 milligrams sodium.From the menu of...Valenza, 1441 Dresden Drive NE, Brookhaven; 404-969-3233, valenzarestaurant.com.
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