This tasty recipe from the March issue of Canadian Living can be on the table in about 40 minutes. Cook onion and garlic, add tomato paste, wine, tomatoes and sugar and simmer until thickened. Cook the pasta and then add the mussels to the sauce and cook until they open, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the mussels and sauce and serve with crusty bread.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use butter that contains only cream. I used No Name tomato paste and Unico tomatoes. You can skip the wine or use one that contains only naturally occurring sulfites. I used a white wine from  Frogpond Farm.

The sauce comes together quickly; simmer for a few minutes until it thickens.

Steam the mussels and then add the cooked noodles.

Ingredients:

2.2 lbs (1 kg) mussels

2 tbsp (30 ml) butter

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

¾ tsp (3 ml) salt

Pinch pepper

¼ tsp (1 ml) hot pepper flakes (optional)

2 tbsp (30 ml) tomato paste

¾ cup dry (185 ml) white wine

1 14-oz can (398 ml) no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1 tsp (5 ml) granulated sugar

8 oz (225 g) dried fettuccine

3 tbsp (45 ml) chopped parsley

Preparation:

Using stiff brush, scrub mussels; remove any beards. Discard any mussels that do not open when tapped. Set aside.

In large pot, melt butter and oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes, stirring often, until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook for 1 minute. Add wine and cook for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and sugar; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Add mussels, stirring to coat. Increase heat to medium; cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that remain closed.

Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Add pasta to mussel mixture; stir to coat. Divide among bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4.

From Canadian Living