Mussel and zucchini spaghetti
( Spaghetti cozze e zucchine )

Mussels and zucchini spaghetti recipe

Preparation and cooking

• - Prepare mussels.
  Thaw mussels.
  Eliminate their byssus inside if you don't like it.
  Put them apart.
• - Prepare spaghetti sauce.
  Chop onions finely.
  Trim zucchini and wash under cold running water.
  Cut them into matchstick-size pieces.
  Put olive oil, bay leaf and onions in a non-stick frying pan.
  Saute on very low heat for few minutes, stirrung now and then.
  Add zucchini too.
  Continue cooking on low heat until zucchini wither a bit.
  Now add mussels too.
  Season to taste with salt and pepper if liked.
  Let all flavor for few minutes.
  Meanwhile clean and wash parsley and chives.
  Pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper.
  Add parsley a couple of minutes before turnig off the stove and chives only after adding pasta.
• - Cook spaghetti.
  Meanwhile bring to the boil a large kettle of water.
  When it is to boil add salt and then pasta.
  Cook spaghetti al dente stage.
  Drain pasta very well.
• - The last step.
  Transfer spaghetti into the pan with pasta sauce.
  Add breadcrumbs too and saute on high heat to flavor.
  Stir with delicacy.

Just before serving

• - Your spaghetti dish is ready.
  Put spaghetti in individual plate and serve immediately.

Note

Tips

• - A suggestion for a fast thaw: place the envelope, unopened, directly in water.
• - Prefer always whole meal pasta or emmer pasta that you can see in the photo. It is healthier.
• - If you want to prepare this spaghetti dish with fresh mussels you have to buy 800g (1 3/4 pound) unshelled mussels.
  After clening put them in a pan with no fat on high heat and let their shell open.
  Remove the mollusc from every shell.
  Mussels produce some water too. Use it to dilute your sauce during cooking.

Menu planning

• - Spaghetti with mussels and zucchini is a tasty one-plate meal for your family menu but be careful not to make it too often. I'll explain why below ;)

Healthy eating

• - Spaghetti with mussels and zucchini is a great single dish. Just see the amount of calories, proteins, sugars and fats. Add only raw vegetables to munch on or seasonal fresh fruit.
  The portion of pasta is right but there is also a tablespoon of breadcrumbs per head. Besides you have to consider the amount of mussels that is generous. Every ingredient you add to any recipe increases calories of the dish indeed.
• - I would like to point out the difference in the use of a kind paste rather than another.
  I calculated calories, protein, total fat and sugars you can read above with the most common pasta in use.
  On the contrary here are the same nutrients if whole meal emmer pasta is used.
  Calories: 549 kcal (2246 kJ)
  Protein: 28.4g
  Total fat: 15.4g
  Carbo: 68.4g
  Sugars: 7.7g
  Fiber: 8.2g
  Compare the figures. There are more calories but you can notice fewer carbohydrates. Besides fiber per serving are much higher (with common pasta it is 4.4g). To conclude glycemic peak is much lower with emmer pasta. It is important for your healthy daily diet.

Loretta

What's the right wine ?

My husband and I always drink a glass of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi (white wine of Marches) to accompany this spaghetti dish.