• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Spanish Fiestas

Spain Travel Guide

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Search
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Search
  • CITY GUIDES
    • Barcelona
    • Madrid
    • Seville
    • All City Guides
  • TOURISM
    • History of Spain
    • Regions of Spain
    • Spain Cruise Ports
  • HOLIDAYS
    • Mallorca
    • Costa del Sol
    • Costa Blanca
    • Tenerife
    • Benidorm
  • FESTIVALS
    • Pamplona Bullrun
    • Las Fallas
    • La Tomatina
    • All Festivals
  • RECIPES
    • Paella de Mariscos
    • Tortilla Española
    • All Spain Recipes
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • CITY GUIDES
    • Barcelona
    • Madrid
    • Seville
    • All City Guides
  • TOURISM
    • History of Spain
    • Regions of Spain
    • Spain Cruise Ports
  • HOLIDAYS
    • Mallorca
    • Costa del Sol
    • Costa Blanca
    • Tenerife
    • Benidorm
  • FESTIVALS
    • Pamplona Bullrun
    • Las Fallas
    • La Tomatina
    • All Festivals
  • RECIPES
    • Paella de Mariscos
    • Tortilla Española
    • All Spain Recipes
Pulpo a la Gallega

Mussels in Tomato Sauce Recipe

You are here: Home / Spanish Food Recipes / Mussels in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Mejillones a la Marinera

On a recent visit to Brussels I ordered a plate of mussels. Imagine my surprise when I found that they’re half the size of Spanish ones and cost three times the price! No wonder mussels in Spain are often regarded as ‘el marisco de los pobres’ (poor man’s shellfish) when they cost so little and are so widely available at fish counters.

Spain is Europe’s largest supplier of mussels with 90% being produced on rafts called ‘bateas’ in the waters of Galicia. There are thousands of these floating mussel farms in the Vigo estuary and in the adjacent Rías Baixas which have ropes hanging from them on which mussels and oysters are grown. Much smaller quantities of mussels are also farmed in Catalonia and Andalusia and an even smaller number of wild mussels are collected from rocky coastlines.

Tapas Recipes Book
Download Kindle Version Now

This mussels recipe is our version of the classic ‘Mejillones a la Marinera’ which is packed with strong Spanish flavours. It uses the traditional technique of frying onion, garlic in olive oil to create a ‘sofrito’ before adding tomato, white wine and mussels. You can control the spiciness of this dish by deciding between hot or sweet paprika. Some chefs even add chilli peppers (guindillas) to make it a very spicy dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4 main courses or 6 – 8 starters

  • 2 ½kg mussels
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 450g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 150ml white wine
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • oregano
  • black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • crusty bread
Mussels in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Cooking Method

First find a large pan with a lid. Heat some olive oil in the pan and add the onions and garlic and let them fry gently for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile clean the mussels. Remove the beards and clean the outside of the shells – some people like to scrape the shells to get them spotless but I don’t think you need to go to overboard. Throw out any that are broken or that don’t close when you touch them. You could soak them in cold, salty water for a while which might make them open and lose any grains of sand inside them.

Once the onions have been frying for 20 minutes add all the other ingredients except the mussels and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and gently simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes to let all the flavours come out.

Turn the heat back up, add the mussels and cover. Leave to cook for about 5 minutes until the shells open.

Serve in large bowls with plenty of fresh crusty bread to soak up the wonderful sauce.

More Delicious Spanish Recipes For You To Try …

Chicken and Potato Stew Recipe

Chicken and Potato Stew Recipe

Stuffed Red Peppers Recipe

Stuffed Red Peppers

Tortilla de Patatas Recipe

Spanish Tortilla Recipe

Stuffed Eggs Recipe

Stuffed Eggs Recipe

Mussels in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Mussels in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Berenjenas Rellenas Recipe - Stuffed Aubergines

Stuffed Aubergines Recipe

Share With Your Friends

Footer

  • Spain City Guides
  • Regions of Spain
  • Spain Cruise Ports
  • Getting Around
  • Spain Festivals
  • Spanish Culture
  • Spanish Recipes
  • History of Spain
  • Costa del Sol Holidays
  • Costa Blanca Holidays
  • Mallorca Holidays
  • Tenerife Holidays
  • Gran Canaria Holidays
  • Lanzarote Holidays
  • Ibiza Holidays
  • Menorca Holidays
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 Spanish Fiestas - All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy

This Website Uses Cookies - Please Confirm That You're Okay With That OK Learn More
Privacy Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT