Mussels in vegetable broth

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 kg mussels
• 750 g tomatoes
• 3 onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 peppers, red
• 2 stalk(s) Celery
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 200 ml vegetable stock
• 200 ml tomato juice
• 200 ml dry white or rosé wine

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours

Brush each mussel thoroughly under cold running water. A fine wire brush works best for this. Use plenty of water to remove even the last traces of sand. Cut off the mussel beards with a knife and soak the mussels in cold water for about 30 minutes. Discard any mussels that don’t close when tapped, as well as any damaged mussels. Meanwhile, make a cross-shaped incision in the tomatoes, briefly blanch them in boiling water, then skin them, remove the stem ends, and dice them. Peel and dice the onions and garlic. Halve the peppers, deseed them, and chop them finely. Clean, wash, and thinly slice the celery. Pick off the thyme leaves and rosemary needles and chop them finely. In a large pot, fry the onions, garlic, and chilies in hot oil. Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, stock, tomato juice, tomatoes, celery, and wine. Simmer everything for about 5–10 minutes. Season the broth with salt and pepper. Add coarsely chopped parsley. Add the drained mussels and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until they have opened. Discard any unopened mussels. This is delicious with baguette. The best part is the broth. The leftovers can also be used as soup the next day.