This recipe for stuffed mussels with rice and tomato is a tasty appetiser that will impress the most discerning of dinner guests, yet it’s easy enough to put together for a quick and easy meal for the family.
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Have you ever stuffed a mussel?
Until I tried this recipe I’d never even considered stuffing a mussel! I’ve stuffed mushrooms before – see this recipe for ham and cheese stuffed mushrooms (which are absolutely delicious by the way) – but I’ve never stuffed a mussel.
Until today that is!
I found this recipe for stuffed mussels in the Taste of Greece – Seafood Edition e-book, published by Magic Media ApS, Denmark. And while I’d love to be able to give them more credit for the inspiration, unfortunately, I have no more information than that.
I’ve obviously added my own touches to the recipe:
- the original recipe requires you to cook the rice separately. I’ve chosen to cook it with the tomatoes and onions to infuse their taste into the rice.
- the chopped dill and parsley were only added once the rice was cooked, to maximise the flavours.
- I also added a little tomato paste for extra flavour, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top of the stuffed mussels before baking them in the oven.
And I have to say, this recipe is a resounding success.
You get plump tender mussels and super flavourful rice, with the sharp creaminess of the cheese which makes the perfect appetiser that is bound to impress any guest at your dinner table.
But what I really love about it is how easy it is to make. Apart from having to wait until the rice cools down enough to handle (so you can stuff it into the mussel shells), there’s hardly anything to do.
And if you want to turn this into a complete meal (which I did) all you have to do is whip up a batch of these garlic butter prawns, add one or two side salads and a slice or two of garlic bread and you have a seafood dinner that wouldn’t be out of place in any fancy restaurant. In no time at all!
I’m so excited about this recipe. Let me show you how to make it!
What you will need
Equipment
For cooking the mussels you will need a large saucepan with a lid, and a colander to drain them in.
To chop up the onion, tomatoes and herbs, you will need a sharp knife and a chopping board.
And for the rice filling you will need either a large saucepan or a saute pan. I used a saute pan for clearer photos. There is a larger surface area in a saute pan so the cooking time given in the recipe may be slightly off if you use a saucepan with a smaller surface area. You’ll just have to keep your eye on it and perhaps adjust the timings by one or two minutes.
You will also need a baking dish large enough to hold all the mussels in a single layer. I used an 8-inch x 12-inch dish for 24 mussels.
Ingredients
This recipe will feed 6 people as a starter. You could also add half a dozen prawns per person ( made as per my garlic butter prawn recipe) and serve the entire dish with one or two side salads as a complete meal for 4 people.
Depending on the size of your mussels you may have a little rice left over. I filled 24 smallish mussels (shell-size approximately 3 inches long) and had about 1 cup of rice left over. I could probably have filled 30 mussels with the amount of rice.
**You can find the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these stuffed mussels with tomato and onion on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Mussels – these are fresh mussels in their shell. You should discard any mussels that are open and don’t close when you tap them gently; likewise discard any mussels with a cracked or broken shell. If any mussels have a ‘beard’ on the side, pull this off too. Rinse the mussels well in cold water.
The recipe calls for 24 mussels (4 per person as a starter). However, if you have to discard any mussels that are open or broken you will be short. For this reason, I would recommend buying a few more than you think you will need. (Don’t worry – they taste so good they WILL get eaten!)
Rice – this is normal long-grain rice – I used Basmati.
Garlic paste – for this recipe I prefer to use garlic paste rather than fresh garlic, but you could use either.
Onion – the onion should be peeled and finely diced, approximately the size of a cooked grain of rice.
Tomato – the tomatoes should be finely diced. You can remove the skin first if you prefer but because the tomatoes are so finely diced you don’t really notice it.
Tomato puree – you may know this as tomato paste. This adds additional tomato flavour to the rice.
Parmesan cheese – you need enough finely grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the mussels before they are baked.
Salt – for seasoning – and to your own taste.
Fresh dill and parsley – these should be finely chopped. Because they are fresh you only stir them through the rice at the end of the cooking time. You could also use dried dill and parsley but these should be added when you add the rice to give more time for the flavour to be extracted. You will also need one-third less by volume of dried herbs than fresh.
Dried oregano – this is added along with the stock.
You will also need some olive oil for frying the onions.
What to do
Rinse the mussels in lots of cold water. Remove and discard any mussels that are cracked or broken, as well as any mussels that do not close when you tap them gently.
If any of the mussels have a ‘beard’ on the side, pull this off as well. The beard won’t harm you, but it’s not particularly appetising.
Place the mussels in a saucepan with a cupful of cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels open. Drain through a colander and then set them aside to cool. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onions over a low to moderate heat for 4 to 5 minutes until they start to turn translucent. Stir continually and do not allow the onions to brown.
Add the tomatoes and garlic to the onions.
Cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook over low to moderate heat until the tomatoes have softened and released their juices. If the tomatoes look as though they are starting to burn or dry out add a splash of water and turn down the heat.
Pour in the water and add the salt, tomato puree, rice, oregano and any other dried herbs you may be using. Stir to combine and turn up the heat to bring it to the boil.
Once the rice starts to boil, turn the heat back down to low, cover the pan with a lid and leave for 10 to 15 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Then remove from the heat and stir in the fresh chopped herbs.
Taste for seasoning and stir in a little more salt if necessary.
Leave the rice to stand covered and allow it to cool down.
Once the mussels and rice are cool enough to handle you can stuff the mussels.
Using a tablespoon, take a spoonful of rice and place it over the mussel in the shell. Press the top of the shell over the rice to help keep it in place and arrange the stuffed mussels in a single layer in a baking dish.
Sprinkle the stuffed mussels with the parmesan cheese.
Place the baking dish, uncovered, into a preheated oven (180C/360F) for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese is starting to brown.
Don’t leave the dish for too long in the oven or the rice will start to dry out.
Serve hot as an appetiser on a bed of salad leaves with sliced tomatoes. Alternatively add some garlic butter prawns, a larger green salad and perhaps pieces of garlic bread and serve as a main meal for 4 people.
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Stuffed mussels FAQ
Cooked mussels can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. However, I have never frozen this dish so I am not sure how well it will defrost. If you do freeze this dish I’d love to hear whether it defrosted and reheated succesfully.
I would recommend you only make the rice mixture in advance. It can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. I would be inclined to cook the mussels from fresh when I want to make the dish, allow them to cool and then stuff them with the cold rice. The mussels only take minutes to cook, so you don’t save too much time by cooking them in advance.
Mussels are high in vitamin B12, which is needed for the production of red blood cells. They also contain Omega-3 fatty acids which are necessary for heart health.
The mussels will be cooked as soon as they have opened.
There is an old wives tale that says you should only eat mussels if there is an ‘R’ in the month. However, I think that stems back to the days when people went out and picked their own mussels fresh out of the sea. These days, mussels are commercially farmed and they are safe to eat all year round.
Save for later
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Other recipes
You may also like to try these other recipes using mussels:
- Fresh mussels with pasta in tomato sauce – juicy mussels cooked in their shells in a spicy tomato and onion sauce, then mixed with cream and served on pasta.
- Fresh mussels in a creamy garlic sauce (with chips) – my easy version of moules frites!
- Creamy mussel pasta – plump juicy mussels in a creamy garlic-flavoured sauce on a bed of tender pasta.
The recipe
Stuffed mussels with rice and tomato
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Baking dish 8" x 10"
Ingredients
- 24 mussels
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 2 medium tomatoes (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ cup / 100 grams basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree / tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup / 25 grams grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Rinse the mussels in lots of cold water. Remove and discard any mussels that are cracked or broken, as well as any mussels that do not close when you tap them gently. If any of the mussels have a 'beard' on the side, pull this off as well. The beard won't harm you, but it's not particularly appetising.24 mussels
- Place the mussels in a saucepan with a cupful of cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels open. Drain through a colander and then set them aside to cool. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onions over a low to moderate heat for 4 to 5 minutes until they start to turn translucent. Stir continually and do not allow the onions to brown.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- Add the tomatoes and garlic to the onions.2 medium tomatoes (finely chopped), 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- Cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook over low to moderate heat until the tomatoes have softened and released their juices. If the tomatoes look as though they are starting to burn or dry out add a splash of water and turn down the heat.
- Pour in the water and add the salt, tomato puree, rice, oregano and any other dried herbs you may be using. Stir to combine and turn up the heat to bring it to the boil.½ cup / 100 grams basmati rice, 2 tablespoons tomato puree / tomato paste, 1 cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- As soon as the rice starts to boil, turn the heat back down to low, cover the pan with a lid and leave for 10 to 15 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Then remove from the heat and stir in the fresh chopped herbs. Leave to cool.1 tablespoon fresh dill, 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- Taste for seasoning and stir in a little more salt if necessary.
- While the rice is cooling, preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F
- Using a tablespoon, take a spoonful of cooled rice and place it over the mussel in the shell. Press the top of the shell over the rice to help keep it in place and arrange the stuffed mussels in a single layer in a baking dish.
- Sprinkle the stuffed mussels with the parmesan cheese.¼ cup / 25 grams grated parmesan cheese
- Place the baking dish, uncovered, into a preheated oven (180C/360F) for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese is starting to brown.
- Don't leave the dish for too long in the oven or the rice will start to dry out.
- Serve hot as an appetiser on a bed of salad leaves with sliced tomatoes. Alternatively add some garlic butter prawns, a larger green salad and perhaps pieces of garlic bread and serve as a main meal for 4 people.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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