PASTA WITH MUSSELS, TOMATOES AND FRIED CAPERS

Pasta With Mussels, Tomatoes and Fried Capers image

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

1 Salt as needed
8 ounces Calamarata, rigatoni or other short pasta
4 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Drained capers, patted dry
2 Garlic cloves, 1 minced, 2 thinly sliced
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 Large pinch of ted-pepper flakes
2 cups Diced ripe, fresh tomatoes (2 medium tomatoes)
1 Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
1 Fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 cup Dry white wine
3 Large sprigs fresh oregano or marjoram
2 pounds Mussels, rinsed and debearded
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup Torn fresh basil or mint

Steps:

Bring a medium pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until 2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain.
As pasta cooks, prepare the bread crumbs: In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add capers and minced garlic, and let sizzle for 30 seconds. Add bread crumbs, and fry until both crumbs and capers are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Scrape the crumbs and capers onto a plate, and season to taste with salt.
Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot and let it get hot. Add sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes, and let sizzle until garlic is golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes have softened and start to lose their shape, about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomato solids to a small bowl, add lemon juice to taste, and set aside.
Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot and let it get hot. Add sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes, and let sizzle until garlic is golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes have softened and start to lose their shape, about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomato solids to a small bowl, add lemon juice to taste, and set aside.
Simmer the mussels liquid until reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes. Discard oregano sprigs.
When mussels are still hot (but not too hot to handle), pull meat from shells and add to the pot with reduced mussel broth (discard shells). Add pasta, tomatoes and butter, and toss well. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed.
Transfer mixture to a shallow serving bowl and toss with herbs. Top with bread crumb-caper mixture and serve.