Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Portuguese olive oil, or extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced Portuguese or Spanish chorizo
• 2 celery stalks, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
• 1/2 onion, sliced thinly
• 25 mussels, cleaned well
• 1/2 cup clam juice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 loaf crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and chorizo and saute for about 2 minutes. Then the celery, garlic, tomatoes, fennel and onions, and saute until tender but not too soft, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Add the mussels, and saute again until the mussels start to pop open. Add the clam juice and wine and cover the skillet. Steam the mussels until they open, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove any mussels that didn't open, and transfer the rest from the skillet to a serving bowl(s), leaving the liquid behind. Add the butter and simmer until the liquid reduces a bit, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour the liquid over the mussels and serve with a delightful crusty bread.