Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce

I am sure there are a million different ways to make this, but this is likely one of the simplest ways. I can't believe I waited so long to try to make this even though I always order it at restaurants! The sauce is really yummy and you can use it to dip bread or add pasta to make this a full meal. Enjoy!

Before...

and After!

If you didn't know this already, when choosing between curly or flat parsley, always choose flat parsley for cooking. Curly is for garnish and has less/no flavor.

Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce

Serves: 1-4

Ingredients:
Mussels - 1 bag (~2lb), cleaned
White Wine - 1/2 bottle
Shallot* - 1 small, chopped
Tomato* - 1 small, de-seeded and chopped
Parsley - handful, chopped (flat parsley)
Butter - 2 teapoons

*Adjust proportion of tomato and shallot depending on your preference for red or white wine sauce. Can also add chopped jalapeño/serrano peppers or onions.

Directions:
1. Sautee chopped shallot with butter until it's aromatic. Add chopped tomatoes and mix.
2. After the tomatoes are hot, add some of the chopped parsley and pour in half a bottle of white wine (doesn't have to be nice wine). Turn down the heat, cover and reduce the sauce by half.
3. Season the reduced sauce with salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar to taste. Note that the sauce will taste much better after the mussels are cooked in it.
4. Add the mussels to the sauce pan, cover and cook until shells are completely open. Toss out ones that remain close (which means they were dead).
5. Turn off the heat, mix in the rest of the chopped parsley and it's ready to serve.