Mussels in tomato and bacon sauce

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 ½ kg mussels, Galician
• 200 g bacon or ham, finely diced
• 200 g onion(s), finely diced
• 75 g garlic, finely diced
• 50 ml olive oil, mild
• 200 ml dry white wine, e.g. Riesling
• 1 small can of tomatoes (yellow San Marzano) 400 g
• 2 pinches smoked paprika powder, e.g. Allspiceón de la Vera
• 1 tsp, chopped oregano, shredded
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock, highly concentrated
• Sea salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours 20 minutes

Fry the bacon or ham cubes in a sauté pan large enough to hold all the mussels over medium heat. Add the olive oil, diced onion, and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add the paprika and oregano and sauté briefly while stirring. Deglaze with the white wine and reduce the liquid to about half. Add the tomatoes, roughly chopping them if necessary. Stir in the vegetable stock and simmer with the lid closed and on low heat for about two hours, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes and onions are mostly cooked. Replace any evaporated liquid if necessary. In the meantime, clean the mussels and remove any dead (open) mussels. Season the sauce with sea salt and add the mussels. Simmer over high heat with the lid closed for about 5 minutes. If you are concerned about hepatitis A pathogens in the mussels, you should heat the mussels for significantly longer. Stir or toss carefully to ensure all mussels are covered in the sauce. Remove any still-closed mussels. Serve in portions or in a sauté pan. Serve with a rustic baguette. The amount of mussels per serving depends not only on the eater’s appetite but also, of course, on the meat content and the proportion of dead mussels, which varies greatly depending on the source. The specified 1.5 kg is only a rough guideline, with negligible waste.