Mussels a la Jose Andreas

Living in DC and having a bit of a ham/cheese (aka Spain) obsession, PB and I are big Jose Andreas fans (we went to Cafe Atlantico on our first date). The other day we were watching his tasty Galicia show on Made in Spain and he made this mouthwatering mussels and potatoes dish that I just had to try.

You need: mussels, fingerling potatoes, bay leaves, olive oil, albarino wine, pimenton (Spanish paprika).

Peel and then boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes (stick a fork in them to see if they are ready: if the fork easily pierces the potato they are done). Then use a fork to mash them and season with salt and pepper.

Then heat olive oil in a pan (one that has a lid) and once it's smoking hot toss in the mussels and 3 or 4 bay leaves plus about .75 cup of wine. and then cover. Jose said that you could count to cinco and the mussels would be open and ready to take out but I had to cook them a bit longer.

Once the mussels open, take them out of their shells and place them on top of the mashed potatoes. Then season the dish with plenty of olive oil and pimenton.

PB and I both felt this needed something a little sweet, some garlic or shallots would definitely do the trick. Happy eating!