Spaghetti from the mussel broth

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500g spaghetti
• 1 ½ kg mussels, cleaned
• ½ bulb(s) of fennel
• 1 carrot(s), medium-sized
• 1 onion(s)
• 3 tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• ½ bunch parsley, flat
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 0.1 g saffron
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 25 minutes

Briefly rinse the mussels with clean water. Discard any open mussels that do not close when tapped on the countertop. Cut the fennel, onion, and carrot into thin strips. Roughly slice the garlic. Lightly fry in olive oil in a large pot, taking care not to brown. Deglaze with the white wine. Once boiling, increase the heat to high and add the mussels. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until all the mussels have opened, shaking the pot occasionally. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in salted water until half cooked. Peel the tomatoes (briefly dip them in the spaghetti water), remove the seeds, and roughly dice them. Pick and roughly chop the parsley, and set aside. Remove the mussels from the broth and remove the meat from their shells. Set aside a few mussels with their shells for garnish. Before draining, remove 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside in case the liquid from the mussels is insufficient. Bring the mussel stock (the salt water from the mussels has now been added) back to a boil and add the saffron. Season with cayenne pepper. Depending on the salt content of the seawater from the mussels, you may not need to add more salt. Add the half-cooked spaghetti and finish cooking, stirring frequently. If there isn’t enough liquid, add a little of the pasta water (it’s always been enough for me). When the spaghetti is al dente, stir in the mussel meat, diced tomatoes, and parsley. Serve on plates and garnish with the whole mussels.