Home Made Love: Shrimp and Mussels In Lemon and White Wine Sauce

In “Attack of the Killer Lemons,” I wrote about our discovery of the super odd, Pirates of the Caribbean-looking Buddha Hand Lemons. In that post, I promised to give you the recipe for the shrimp and mussels dish I whipped up with the funky looking fruit, and so here it is. While quite odd-looking, the zest of the Buddha Hand Lemons tasted just like, well, lemons but with a slightly more intense flavor, minus the bitterness. Of course, you can use just plain ol’ lemons in this recipe, which is super easy to make, especially considering how impressive the shrimp and mussels look on the plate. Enjoy!

What You Need:

• 1 lb. fresh mussels, shucked
• 1 small onion, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• half stick of butter
• 2 tsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 3 cups shrimp stock
• 1 cup white cooking wine
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1 box thin spaghetti
• salt & pepper to taste

How To Make It:

1. Put shrimp shells in saucepan with four cups water and salt and pepper to taste; bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer to make shrimp stock.
2. In a second, larger saucepan, saute onions and half garlic in olive oil until translucent; add shrimp stock (minus the shells), white wine and parsley. Let simmer.
3. Melt butter in a frying pan; saute the rest of the garlic until softened, about five minutes. Add shrimp, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste; saute until the shrimp turns pink and is cooked through. Keep warm.
4. Cook pasta according to directions.
5. Put mussels in simmering wine and shrimp stock; cover with a lid and let them steam until shells open a few minutes.
6. Plate spaghetti, then spoon shrimp, mussels and liquid from mussels on top of pasta. Serve with sauted broccoli and crusty garlic bread.