Zuppa Di Mussels (Italian Fish Soup)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The first time I had Zuppa Di Mussels was in a little Italian restaurant in Central Utica, NY. the flavors of this had me hooked after the first mussel was extracted gently from the shell swimming in this tomato wine sauce.


Each mussel was a plump, meaty mollusk filled with this delicious soup-filled shell, and crusty Tuscan style garlic bread was served on the plate to dunk in the juices.


This dish was beyond delicious, and when possible we always try to use all fresh ingredients, however fresh or frozen mussels can be used for this dish along with fresh or canned tomatoes.


Either way the taste of this fish soup is fabulous and made in minutes, some of the tips are below to experience this Italian Zuppa Di Mussels in the most authentic way possible.


We even put this on our menu to celebrate Christmas Eve as this became part of the 7 Fishes as a starter to our traditional seafood meal.


For this easy recipe for mussels scroll down to the recipe card below and print this off, if you love seafood this is a great recipe to try for mussels.









Zuppa Di Mussels is one of the most popular Italian recipes on the menu for seafood lovers in Italy.

A traditional dish from the region of Puglia, specifically from the city of Taranto.

Mussels in red wine, or Cozze alla Tarantina, are extremely popular as this is a traditional dish from the region of Puglia.

The region of Puglia is abundant in seafood, thanks to its location surrounded by oceans.

This is a simple part soup part sauce dish to make any weeknight.




Tips


  • Use all fresh herbs when available
  • For added sweetness without using sugar add 1 carrot
  • Use all fresh fish when available
  • Use only fresh plum tomatoes for the sauce or San Marzano canned
  • White white will be lighter in color for the sauce, use red if you like a deep color sauce
  • Always clean  mussels checking for unopened shells and discarding them
  • If fresh mussels don't close when tapped throw them out
  • Add red pepper for a spicy hot soup
  • Serve with hard-crusted Italian bread, Garlic bread, or Pasta of choice on the side



Ingredients For Zuppa Di Mussels


  • olive oil
  • fresh garlic
  • fresh plum tomatoes pureed
  • fresh or frozen mussels
  • dry white or red wine
  • fresh parsley
  • fresh basil leaves
  • salt and pepper
  • red pepper flakes





More Recipes We Love


Seafood Scampi

Italian White or Red Chowder

Cioppino Fish Stew


Pin this Recipe





zuppa di mussels, Italian mussels, fish soup, Cozze alla Tarantina, mussels in wine and tomato sauce
mussel recipes, fish soup recipes, zuppa di mussels recipe
Italian
Yield: 4
Author: Claudia Lamascolo
Zuppa Di Mussels (Italian Fish Soup)

Zuppa Di Mussels (Italian Fish Soup)

Mussels in white wine and tomato sauce a delicious style Italian fish soup
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of frozen mussels (fresh need to be cleaned: rinse under cold running water and rip off any beards. Discard any that do not close when tapped.)
  • 4 cloves of fresh garlic
  • 2 cups Pinot Grigio white wine
  • 2 pounds of ripe plum tomatoes put through a food processor (or use 1 - 28 ounce can of San Marzano whole tomatoes squeezed and crushed by hand) keeping them still a little chunky
  • 2 large shallots
  • 1 fresh lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • red pepper flakes to taste
  • 4 fresh basil leaves chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • Serve with hard crusty Italian bread, baguette bread, or toasted garlic bread

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a deep saucepan adding the shallots and garlic.
  2. Saute just around 2 minutes when the garlic starts to turn golden not browned and add the mussels, wine, and tomatoes with juice.
  3. Simmer on medium heat for around 15 minutes.
  4. Stir carefully not to bang the shells together and break off pieces.
  5. Only open mussels are to be eaten, if they don't open throw them out.
  6. When they've all opened, take this off the heat add the basil, and parsley and stir it into the pot.
  7. Serve with bread of choice for dipping in the sauce.
  8. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.
  9. Garnish with long shreds of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese if desired.

Notes

Tips


  • Use all fresh herbs when available
  • For added sweetness without using sugar add 1 carrot
  • Use all fresh fish when available
  • Use only fresh plum tomatoes for the sauce or San Marzano canned
  • White white will be lighter in color for the sauce, use red if you like a deep color sauce
  • Always clean mussels checking for unopened shells and discarding them
  • If fresh mussels don't close when tapped throw them out
  • Add red pepper for a spicy hot soup
  • Serve with hard-crusted Italian bread, Garlic bread, or Pasta of choice on the side




Pin this Recipe







More Recipes We Love



Italian Christmas Eve Seafood Recipes


Best Fried Fish Recipe Coatings


Stuffed Flounder with Shrimp and Crab


This is an affiliate link and I do make a small commission See Disclosure Policy



14 comments

  1. I love this! Bye, have a great day

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks so delicious. Anything with lots of seafood is my kind of meal.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'll take a very large bowl please! What a fantastic recipe. I see this as a nice romantic dinner, with a bottle of wine and a loaf of crusty bread.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mmmm...looks delicious. I would add in lots of seafood :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mussels are in season now here... I have never made fish soup before. It's time for me to start.. thanks for this recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. An awesome soup with delicious fresh seafood!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, that looks lovely :) I love fish and seafood soups that are broth based, give me a bouillabaisse any day! Great recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely, restaurant quality dish here! I do love seafood with an italian twist and this one looks amazing. Light and delicious-file this one in the "treasured" recipe box!

    ReplyDelete
  9. YUM! Looks so yummy & with fresh seafood! It's really very appetizing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. The seafood soup is something I always order at my favourite Italian and this reminds me of how delicious it was. Looks so good!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is absolutely delicious, I've had variations of it several times.
    Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This looks so good and comforting! I think they have mussels on sale and if not I can certainly do this with clams or shrimp.

    ReplyDelete
  13. lovely recipe and beautiful photos... are you doing anything different with your photography?

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a beautiful seafood soup...lovely and comforting :)

    ReplyDelete

Remember to use the search option for a recipe you're looking for and thanks for all your kind words and support. We love our readers all the best Claudia