Tagliatelle with mussels and saffron cream sauce
Theo Randall's creamy seafood tagliatelle has a divinely rich sauce flavoured with white wine, saffron and parsley.
Ingredients
- 2kg/4lb 8oz mussels in the shell, scrubbed and debearded
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 150ml/¼ pint white wine
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- ½ tsp saffron strands
- 75ml/5 tbsp double cream
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú breadcrumbs
- 400g/14oz tagliatelle
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
- sea salt
Method
Discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. In a large saucepan over a high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then the mussels and garlic, place the lid on and cook for 2 minutes. Add the white wine and sprig of fresh thyme and cover again with the lid, then leave the mussels to cook for 4 minutes.
Take off the lid and pour the mussels into a colander with a large bowl underneath to collect the cooking juices. Discard any mussels that remain closed. When the mussels have cooled down, select 12 of the best mussels for garnish and keep to one side.
With the rest of the mussels, remove the mussel meat from the shell and keep to one side, then discard the shells. The juices are the base of the sauce so strain the juices through a fine sieve or, better still, a coffee filter, as this will collect any small pieces of grit.
Place a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat then add the mussel juices and saffron strands, bring to the boil and allow to reduce by half, this will take 2–3 minutes. Add the cream, bring to a simmer then turn off the heat and keep to one side.
In a small saucepan over a high heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the breadcrumbs and cook them for 2 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown, stirring so the breadcrumbs are evenly browned. Empty the breadcrumbs onto some kitchen paper and season with sea salt, then leave to one side.
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, add the tagliatelle and cook for 3 minutes less than the packet suggests.
Place the non-stick frying pan back on the stove. Use a pair of tongs to take the tagliatelle out of the water and add it to the sauce. Add a ladle of pasta water and then add the mussel meat with any resting juices from them into the frying pan with the sauce. Cook for 2 minutes then add the 12 mussels that you have kept aside, add the chopped parsley and stir the pasta so the sauce and the pasta are nicely emulsified. Add more pasta water if the pasta is not juicy.
Serve the hot pasta with a generous amount of the fried breadcrumbs on top.