This mussels with wine sauce on creamy polenta recipe is so good that your taste buds are going to do the cha-cha in celebration!!
We go to a fabulous restaurant on Main Street in our small town. It is well known in our area and regularly awarded for its seafood, which is surprising because, even though we’re near the coast, we’re basically landlocked. When Christopher and I want to celebrate, we go to this restaurant for its delicious food and cocktails.
We love to sit at the bar. That’s where they shuck oysters and cook lovely appetizers like mussels and steamers. I’ve watched them like a hawk as they prepare sea food. They have an amazing cooking station behind the bar. There is a line of cooking pans with levers that tip their finished products into dishes and bowls. There are water faucets above the cooking pans to wash them after each batch.
I created this recipe in honor of that restaurant.
I’ve never made steamed mussels or clams! How do I do it?
Cooking clams, mussels, crabs and even lobster is pretty much a matter of steaming them out of their shells, so that part is easy.
Do I have to buy mussels in their shells?
No. Although you can make this delightful recipe with fresh mussels in the shell, I love the convenience of using shucked mussels, which also changes the cooking method and shortens the time.
What gives mussels and steamed clams their flavor?
The liquid they’re steamed in contribute a great deal of flavor to mussels and clams. The restaurant I mention above uses chicken broth, butter, herbs and wine. The broth, which they serve for dipping, is so good you could drink it. But Christopher and I try to be circumspect and just soak it up with their fabulous dinner rolls.
Clarified butter also makes shellfish pretty delicious.
How to make mussels with wine sauce
TIP: Prepare the rest of the meal as you’re cooking the polenta, so that everything is finished at roughly the same time.
Step one
Gather the polenta and chicken broth. (1)
Step two
Pour broth into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the polenta and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Add goat cheese and let it melt for another 5 minutes.
Step three
Gather the mussels whether you are using packaged (which I love) or fresh. Also get out the spinach and mushrooms. (2)
Step four
Heat a wok or sauté pan on medium and add some chicken broth, the sliced mushrooms, garlic paste and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes and add spinach and stir until the spinach is wilted. (4)
Step five
Dollop some polenta on plates. (4)
Step six
While the polenta is cooking: Since the mussels are pre-cooked, I heat them up in a sauté pan. Heat the pan on medium, add butter, broth, wine and mussels and sauté for 5 minutes. If you are using mussels in shells, they will be done once the shells open. (5)
Step seven
Spoon the vegetables and the mussels on the polenta.
Mussels with wine sauce on creamy polenta from above!
Other popular seafood recipes on Dishes Delish:
I hope you enjoyed this mussels with wine sauce recipe!
Please feel free to leave me a comment. Is there a restaurant you love whose recipes you’ve ever tried to recreate? If so, how did it go? I’d love to know. And if you leave me a comment, please take the time to rate the recipe, as well! I really appreciate it!
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
If you’ve tried this mussels with wine or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup polenta
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons chicken broth
- 10 ounces sliced portobello mushrooms
- 2 large portobello mushrooms sliced thinly
- 10 ounces baby spinach one package
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic paste or 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/8 cup dry white wine
- 5 ounces mussels pre-packaged without shells
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- In a medium saucepan, set chicken broth to boil, add polenta and 1/2 teaspoon salt and let cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes
- Add goat cheese and continue to cook and stir for 5 minutes until cheese is melted
Meanwhile, put sauté pan on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons chicken broth, mushrooms, garlic paste and salt and sauté for 5 minutes
- Add spinach and stir until wilted
Meanwhile put another sauté pan on medium heat, add butter, chicken broth, wine and mussels and sauté for 5 - 7 minutes. If you are using fresh mussels in the shell, once the shells open, it's done
- Spoon polenta into two shallow bowls or plates
- Spoon some mushrooms and spinach mixture on the polenta
- Top it off with mussels and broth
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
I cook the polenta, mushrooms and spinach and mussels at the same time to cut down on the time it takes to cook! You will have lots of mushrooms and spinach leftover so, it's a great side dish!
You can also use fresh mussels. You can cook them and place them with their shells on the polenta. I just prefer shucked.
Ooh, it’s been a long time since I’ve made polenta – yum! The mussels look scrumptious!
Thank you Jenni! I appreciate it!
The joy of being able to recreate something from your favorite restaurant (esp a high-end one!) is beyond describing! I am so so glad you were able to do it! Polenta looks amazing, I’ll have to try it sometime.
Thanks Tina! 🙂 It’s really yummy!
OMG yum! I love mussels but have never made them at home, I always just get them when I’m out. Thanks for making this look easy and oh-so-delicious!
Thanks Sarah!! It’s so good!
I am a huge seafood lover (and went to school in Boston!) and this dish is making my mouth water. Love the mussels and polenta combo!
Thank you Marlynn! How fun that you went to school here!!
I never tried pairing mussels with polenta before but it looks like a great combination! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thanks Tania! It’s a great paring, if I do say so myself 🙂
Oh this sounds so good! I love eating mussels out but I’ve never made them at home… but this recipe looks so good I might have to!
Thanks Rebecca!! I love eating them out and at home!! 🙂
LOVE polenta!! This looks like a great dish….and worthy for company. I have yet to experiment with mussels. I order them when I am out to dinner, but have never attempted to cook them at home. I will have to give this a try.
Thanks Gloria! They are easy to cook! I love them both out of the shell and in them! Yum.
This recipe has my name written all over it! Seafood? Check! Polenta? Check! Wine? Absolutely!! Never without! It sounds scrumptious and I can guarantee that we’ll be having this dish before long.
Thanks Marisa!! You cracked me up!
I admire your restraint in not slurping up that delicious broth. This recipe is so perfect to showcase both the mussels and polenta.
Hehe, Leslie! Who’s to say I didn’t slurp some up? 🙂 Thank you so much!
What a combination! And something I’ve never had! Polenta, greens and mushrooms, topped with juicy mussels. It looks divine, definitely restaurant worthy.
Thanks so much Nicoletta! I appreciate it!
I like mussels but I LOVE polenta!! What an inspired combo. Looks amazing, too.
I know you do Christopher! 🙂
Elaine, I loved reading your post! We live just outside Boston in Somerville. I love stumbling into others from New England on the internet! These mussels look DIVINE. I absolutely love that they’re already out of the shells for easy eating and the creamy polenta is beautiful!
Lauren! Yay! I live in Melrose! We aren’t far from each other, that is for sure. Thank you so much!
The mussels… the broth… I’m drooling over here!
Hehe! Thanks Leslie!
This look so good! I love mussels, but I’ve never made them at home. I always feel like our grocery store has such mediocre looking shellfish so I haven’t tried it. I really wish we had a good fish monger in the neighborhood!
It’s super easy to cook them! Thanks Julie! And yes, I love a good fish monger!
Mmmmmmm … this looks spectacular! My eyeballs are definitely already doing the cha-cha in celebration, just looking at your gorgeous pics! I adore mussels, but rarely cook them, and your recipe has me so inspired! I really liked your tips, especially about saving a whole (rather labor-intensive step) by buying already-shucked mussels. Brilliant!
Thanks so much Shelley! 🙂 I want to the eyeball cha-cha with you! 🙂
Mmm…. I love polenta dishes so much! I bet it’s pairs wonderfully with the mussels. Your mussels look really good too. I’m going to have to try in find the shelled ones the next time I’m at the grocery store!
Thanks Rachel, I appreciate it! It does pair so well!
This dish sounds incredible and looks gorgeous! I am a sucker for mussels and would devour this!
Thank you Stacey! It’s so yummy!
This dish looks simply amazing! LOVE that the mussels are served over polenta. My family would clean the plate!
Thanks so much Michele! Mine does! 😉