A simple white wine, garlic, and parsley sauce is all that's needed to complement the fresh shellfish in this Italian pasta dish.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　1/2 extra-virgin olive oil

　　4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

　　1 cup dry white wine

　　2 pounds small mussels, scrubbed and debearded

　　1 pound spaghetti

　　1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes

　　

Step 1

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt.

　　

Step 2

2. In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until light golden brown, about a minute. Add the wine, raise the heat, and bring to a boil, then add the mussels. Cook, stirring and tossing, until all of the mussels have opened, about 4 minutes.

　　

Step 3

3. Meanwhile, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until al dente; drain well.

　　

Step 4

4. Add the pasta to the pan with the mussels and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve immediately.

　　From Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home © 2005 by Mario Batali. Reprinted with permission from Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.Buy the full book from Amazon.