Serves 4
Ingredients
1kg mussels
150g dried pinto beans
6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
300g tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of parsley
1 lemon
Slices of toast
Salt and pepper
Method
Soak the beans overnight for around 12 hours.
Boil the beans in salted water with the bay leaf and a clove of garlic.
Wash the mussels and dip them in water and lemon juice.
Remove the mussels from their shells and place in a hot dish.
Strain the liquid left in the pan and set aside.
Heat some oil in a pan and add the other clove of minced garlic.
Remove seeds from the tomatoes and add them together with the soaked beans and garlic to the pan and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the chopped parsley, the liquid from the mussel (which was set aside earlier), some of the water in which the beans were cooked, salt, pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
Toast some bread slices and pour a drop of oil over each slice, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper.
Serve the mussels soup with the slices of toast.
This dish is served at Pegasus Restaurant.
Saul Halevi is an Executive chef, Hotel Phoenicia, Floriana.