Chorizo and Mussels in Tomato Broth

I am currently in the middle of baking a cake for my daughters birthday, but I ran out of eggs so my husband kindly went to the store to get more. So with my spare time, I thought I would blog this amazing recipe. And I do really mean amazing. It's one of my favorite meals now. The last several posts have been meals I've made up, but this one is an Emeril Lagasse recipe (and yes, I kept saying "bam!" the entire time I was cooking) and I really didn't change much. I didn't have any fennel, so I added fennel seeds instead. It worked beautifully, but I would still prefer actual fennel. By the way, this meal only takes 15 mins to make.

Fresh garden parsley, love it!!

Looks, sounds, smells, tastes amazing. I love this meal!

Chorizo and Mussels in Tomato Broth
Serving Size = 4
Original Recipe

• 8 ounces chorizo, casing removed (I used 10 oz of fresh beef chorizo, should fall apart like ground beef)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (or 1 can)
• 1 cup white wine (I used 1/2 chicken and 1/2 beef broth because I ran out of beef broth)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 3 lbs fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded (I used 2lbs)
• French bread for dipping

*Note: Be careful with the salt, it's very easy to go overboard.

1. In a large pan, saute the chorizo over medium or medium-high heat until cooked, about 4 minutes. Removed with a slotted spoon and place onto a paper towel to drain. Drain the fat out of the pan, all but 1 tablespoon.
2. Add the butter to the pan, and when it melts add the onion, fennel (skipped), salt, pepper and cook for 4 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes (and fennel seeds if you skipped the fennel) and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the wine (or stock), cream and parsley, bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook until their shells open (4 - 7 mins).
3. Remove from heat and stir in the chorizo. Discard any shells that do not open. Serve with French bread for dipping.

Linking to: Food Palette Series