- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 medium medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- 1 large tomato–peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, lightly crumbled
- Large pinch of Spanish saffron, lightly crumbled
- 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Albarino
- 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 1/2 cup fish stock or bottled clam juice
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Crusty country bread, for serving
- In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and jalapeno and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato, oregano and saffron and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir it in. Add the wine and mussels, cover the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the fish stock, parsley and lemon juice and cook over high heat, stirring, until the mussels open, about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open. Transfer the mussels and their sauce to deep bowls. Serve at once with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.