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mussels with fennel italian sausage and pernod

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Fish & Seafood

Mussels with Fennel Italian Sausage & Pernod

I love this recipe. I had it on my menu a million years ago back when I had to special order fennel pollen by mail from the one farmer in California who sold it. It has stood the test of time and is so super delicious. There's fennel in all its guises, yet it is not overwhelmingly fennel-y.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds freshest wild mussels
  • 1 link italian sausage with fennel
  • 2 large bulbs fennel sliced thin, fronds reserved
  • 1 large shallot, sliced thin
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup pernod
  • 1 tablespoon fennel pollen, divided
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pinch saffron, in 2 tablespoons warm water

Directions:

  1. Rinse and debeard mussels, discarding any that will not close. Refrigerate them in a bowl with ice and/or cold water.
  2. Remove the sausage casing. In a lidded pot big enough to hold the mussels, brown sausage in 1 tablespoon olive oil.
  3. Remove sausage to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Add another tablespoon olive oil.
  4. Add fennel and shallots and sauté over medium heat until the fennel softens and begins to caramelize.
  5. Remove the fennel and shallots and set aside (with sausage).
  6. Add the remaining olive oil to the pot with the garlic, red pepper flakes and saffron. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes.
  7. Add Pernod and bring to a boil.
  8. Add rinsed mussels, cover pot, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking occasionally, until the mussels open.
  9. Add the half and half, sausage, fennel, and half of the fennel pollen. Cook an additional 3 minutes, shaking the pot a few more times.
  10. To serve, sprinkle the mussels with the remaining fennel pollen and a handful of fennel fronds. An additional drizzle of olive is nice, too.
  11. Serve with crusty bread, lightly toasted and rubbed with garlic.

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