Imagine the aroma filling in your kitchen as you prepare this delightful dish,

Combining succulent mussels with a mix of rice, spices and pinenuts. Make this your next 

Party’s conversation piece. 

Ingredients

Mussels

• 2 lbs large mussels (shells on), cleaned
• Bowl of water with lemon slices (to soak them after cleaning)

Rice Filling

• 1/2 cup short-grain or medium-grain rice, rinsed
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 tbsp currants 
• ½–1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp black pepper 
• ½ tsp cinnamon 
• ½–1 tsp Aleppo pepper
• ½ tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• ¾ cup water

Finish

• Lots of fresh lemon wedges (ESSENTIAL)

 How to Prepare

1. Prepare Mussels

• Scrub shells clean and debeard.
• With a small knife, open the mussel just slightly at the hinge (not fully).
• To make it easier to open, I pour hot water over the shells and it opens on it’s own.
• Do not detach from the shell — mussel stays in one side.

2. Make the Rice Filling

1. In olive oil, sauté onion until soft.
2. Add pine nuts and toast until lightly golden.
3. Add currants, rice, and spices.
4. Stir 1–2 minutes.
5. Add water + sugar + salt.
6. Cook partly — rice should be half cooked and still firm.

3. Stuff the Mussel

• Take each mussel and fill with about 1–2 teaspoons of rice mixture.
• Close the shell

4. Steam

• Place stuffed mussels tightly in a pot, hinge side down.
• Add ½ cup water + a drizzle of olive oil.
• Cover and steam on very low heat for 25–30 minutes.

The rice finishes cooking and absorbs every drop of mussel flavor.

Let it cool and serve it cold with a lots of lemon.